Colorado lawmakers debate constitutionality of requiring merchant category codes for firearms

By Marissa Ventrelli 04/09/2024 | updated 1 year ago

House Republicans on Monday pushed back against legislation to require payment networks, such as credit card companies, to provide processors with a merchant category code that will specifically be assigned to firearms and ammunition purchases.

Senate Bill 066 has already cleared its chamber of origin and was undergoing its final reading on the House floor.

Merchant category codes are four-digit numbers assigned to businesses by credit card networks to classify the types of goods or services they provide. While they are required for just about every other industry, they are not federally required for firearms and ammunition, given the constitutional protections afforded to these products.

Proponents argue that requiring merchant category codes for firearms and ammunition would enable financial institutions to monitor and flag suspicious activity related to firearms purchases, similar to practices already in place for detecting fraud.

Opponents counter that it infringes on people’s Second Amendment rights and is an invasion of privacy. They also argue that mandating merchant category codes won’t actually do anything to stop mass shootings.

Senator Tom Sullivan, D- Aurora, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, said eight of the last 13 mass shootings between 2007 and 2018 were financed with credit cards, including the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting, in which his son Alex was killed. He contended that, if merchant category codes had been required when the perpetrators purchased their weapons, law enforcement could have been notified of suspicious activity and could have potentially intervened.

Rep. Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland, suggested the bill is a waste of time.

“With all the serious problems we have in the state currently, this is the topic we decide to talk about?” he asked. “These are the bills that you decide to pass out of this chamber? Ludicrous. Not one person in this state is complaining about this.”

He added: “There is zero reason to pass such legislation. We have serious problems in this state, and this does nothing to fix them. There are 30 days left, and this is the last thing that we should be choosing to address.”

Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, a sponsor of the bill in the House, pushed back on claims that requiring merchant category codes for firearms would infringe on the privacy of gun buyers. He noted that the state already requires background checks for all firearm purchases, which requires providing personal information to the strangers.

“You’re talking about the right to privacy when you’re purchasing a gun. You’re already giving a ton of information,” he said. “They’re already looking up what you have done in the past when you buy a weapon.”

The bill passed through the House on a vote of 38-21. All House Republicans voted against the bill, as did four Democrats: Majority Leader Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge, Shannon Bird of Westminster, Matthew Martinez of Monte Vista, and Barbara McLachlan of Durango.

With the combination of a slow shutter speed and racking of a zoom lens, the Senate chamber has the look of motion in the State Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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