Governor Kathy Hochul signed three laws this week in what Democrat lawmakers call ‘gun violence prevention’ efforts.
One the bills signed was a technical modification (chapter amendment) to a law passed last year, that will go into effect in May 2025, that tracks legal purchases of firearms and ammunition made on a credit card.
Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) and Senator Zellnor Myrie (D-Central Brooklyn) sponsored S.745/A.439, legislation that requires credit and debit card issuers to use the 4-digit merchant category code (MCC) capturing information on legal buyers of firearms, ammunition and firearms accessories.
Hochul said this would give law enforcement information on who may be stockpiling ammunition. Compliance would be required by May 2025, and would be enforceable by the Attorney General.
Tom King, President of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, said this is “totally a violation of all aspects of personal freedoms and another way to harass lawful gun owner's. What about competitors who buy in bulk because they shoot thousands of rounds per year?"
Credit card processors will assign a unique tracking code to gun and ammunition purchases. These sales are currently coded as "sporting goods" or "other." Cash sales of the same items will not be tracked. A logical question raised by opposition is - Why track legal buyers? Aren’t criminals more likely to buy in cash rather than use a credit card that can so easily be tracked?
When asked if she plans to introduce legislation to track cash purchases, Solages said, “I'm not seeking to do anything like that.”
Solages said, “The intent of the law was not to create a database of gun owners because at the end of the day, this is America. People have the right to have arms. All we want to do is stop the wrong people from having guns.”
Law abiding firearm and ammunitions wonder how New York is going to ensure both the security of the information that's being stored about what people are buying, and how will it ensure that the privacy of gun purchases will be maintained. Also, what sort of behaviors or firearm or ammunition volume would trigger state action?
Hochul responded to these questions in the bill signing ceremony saying, “This is not a harassment technique. We are trying to just make sure that we have the early warning signs when someone could be amassing an arsenal to do harm to others.”
Assemblywoman Solages said in an interview with South Shore Press that the government will not be keeping transaction data, but rather credit card companies will be using their algorithms to identify unusual purchase patterns. They would then contact law enforcement for additional action as appropriate.
Solages said that, “We didn’t set a transaction threshold is in the bill. We are leaving it to the sophisticated algorithms of the financial institutions to flag something unusual. I have full faith in the credit card institutions. If they falsely accuse someone, they can be held liable.” Questions remain about relying on the judgment of a credit card company to decide who is buying the “wrong” amount of ammunition.
Kyle Figueroa, Managing Director of Greenlight Firearms Training took issue with tracking and recording purchases based the duty to conceal in New York. He said, “It's concealed carry state. No one should know you carry a gun. It's supposed to be private. When you add tracking legal purchases related to your firearm permit you're exposing people in a way. This information should be private.”
Greenlight is based in Westchester and also serving Nassau, Suffolk, Dutchess and Putnam counties.