June 14, 2023
With the stroke of his pen, Governor Abbott signed the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act into law over the weekend (HB 2837).
This is only thanks to YOUR pressure, encouraging him to get it done.
Let me tell you why this is so important…
For years, gun stores have been categorized as “miscellaneous retail” or “sporting goods stores” for banks and credit card companies.
But thanks to lobbying by Gun Control, Inc., “woke” financial institutions flirted with using specific Merchant Category Codes (MCC’s) to flag how many guns or how much ammunition you buy.
If these institutions believed you were buying too many guns or too much ammo, they would alert the authorities.
But this was ON TOP of the invasive ATF Form 4473 you are already required to fill out at any FFL when purchasing a firearm.
The only difference is the government is NOT allowed to keep 4473’s to create a gun owner registry. But with merchant codes being handed over to them, they could do whatever they want…creating a de-facto gun owner registry.
You don’t need me to remind you that registration is just the first step toward any future confiscation attempt!
Especially in a cancel culture era where you can be “red flagged” without due process and without any crime being committed.
But thanks to your pressure, Governor Abbott signed House Bill 2837 into law, prohibiting financial institutions from using merchant codes to track, report, or disclose our lawful purchases of firearms, ammunition, and accessories in the state of Texas.
This is a big win for Texas as this bill faced STEEP opposition from the banking lobby.
The Texas Legislature is now in the first special session of the legislature, but they are currently limited by the Governor to only consider property tax relief and border security.
While it is not likely that any gun-related policies will be added to the call for this special session (or future special sessions), it is always important to remember that we could be one tragedy away from weak-kneed Republicans caving to the anti-gun mob if, God forbid, we see another tragedy at the hands of a deranged killer.
So please stay tuned to Texas Gun Rights for future updates and consider chipping in $10 or even $30 to help Texas Gun Rights continue fighting for you in Austin!
–TXGR Staff
