The three major credit card companies in California—Visa, Mastercard, and American Express—are introducing a new merchant code to monitor sales of firearms and accessories.

According to CBS News, the goal of implementing the new merchant code is to meet the requirements of “California legislation that would allow banks to possibly track questionable gun sales and report them to law enforcement.”

Major credit cards had previously planned to employ a new merchant code to monitor all sales involving firearms and ammunition, but later scrapped the scheme.

According to Breitbart News, which broke the story on September 11, 2022, Visa agreed to identify transactions of guns and ammunition using a merchant code in response to pressure from groups advocating for gun control and Democrats in New York. According to the Associated Press, Mastercard and other big credit card firms have also agreed to report sales of firearms.

Breitbart News reported on March 2, 2023, that in April of that year, Discover would start using the new merchant category code (MCC) to keep tabs on transactions of firearms and ammunition. While this news gave the left a sense of momentum, conservatism responded with a tsunami of resistance.

According to Breitbart News, Visa and Mastercard declared on March 9, 2023, that they will not be tracking sales of guns and ammo anytime soon, pivoting in the face of resistance.

However, in order to adhere to new California legislation, the main credit bureaus now want to utilize a merchant code to monitor purchases of firearms and anything associated with them. The California bill will be effective in 2025, as pointed out by the Washington Examiner.

“Once again, credit card companies are seeking to follow the information of legitimate gun owners,” Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) said on the proposal to track gun sales. The far left has launched yet another outrageous attack on the freedom to keep and bear guns guaranteed to Americans by the Second Amendment.