Congress·Reported·H.R. 1181

Congress Proposes Ban on Special Tracking Codes for Gun Store Purchases

Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act

3 months ago·View on Congress.gov

Part of: The Legislative Tug-of-War Over Firearm Merchant Category Codes

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill would stop credit card companies and banks from using a special "gun store" code to track where people shop. Instead, stores that sell firearms would have to be labeled as general stores or sporting goods stores.
The goal is to protect the privacy of people buying guns or ammunition. Supporters worry that special codes could be used to create a list of gun owners or track their legal purchases without a good reason.
If this becomes law, it would cancel out any state or local rules that currently require these special codes. This creates one single rule for the whole country regarding how gun sales are labeled on bank statements.
The U.S. Attorney General would be in charge of making sure companies follow the rules. They would set up a way for people and store owners to report violations and could take companies to court if they don't fix the problem.

Gun PolicyTechnology DigitalEconomy Finance

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Who is affectedScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Broader Impacts

DomainScoreShort-termLong-termReversibilityConfidence

Score

Scores: -5 (harmful) to +5 (beneficial)Short-term: 0-2 yearsLong-term: 10-30 years

Milestones

3 milestones7 actions

Feb 25, 2026House

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 447.

Feb 25, 2026House

Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Financial Services. H. Rept. 119-522.

Dec 17, 2025House

Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 29 - 23.

Dec 17, 2025House

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

Dec 16, 2025House

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Within 90 days of enactment

Attorney General sets up a complaint process for violations

Gun store owners and individuals could report credit card companies or banks that use the special firearms merchant code, starting a formal investigation process.

Upon enactment

Federal preemption of state and local merchant code laws takes effect

Any state or local laws requiring special tracking codes for gun stores would be immediately overridden, creating one uniform national rule.

Related News

5 articles

Washington Times·about 1 year ago

New legislation would block banks from tracking gun and ammo purchases

Rep. Riley M. Moore introduced the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act to prohibit financial institutions from using electronic merchant category codes to trace purchases of firearms and ammunition, citing concerns about the creation of a private database of gun owners.

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CBS Miami·about 3 years ago

Credit card companies targeted on gun sales

Florida's Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved a bill to fine credit card companies for tracking firearm sales, a move supporters say protects privacy but critics argue hinders law enforcement's ability to prevent mass shootings.

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Wisconsin Public Radio·over 2 years ago

GOP Bill Would Block Use of Credit Card Code For Gun Stores

Wisconsin Republican lawmakers are pursuing a ban on merchant category codes specific to gun retailers, mirroring efforts in other states to prevent lawful transactions from being flagged as suspicious or reported to law enforcement agencies.

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