A bill that would allow people to sue anyone or entity that releases information about their credit card gun purchases is necessary to uphold the Second Amendment rights of Wyoming residents, supporters say.
But the measure as written could actually harm Wyoming banks and credit unions, opponents argue.
“We now have a target, no pun intended, on our backs, for potential liability for something we have no control over,” said Scott Meier, president and CEO of the Wyoming Bankers Association.
He was testifying Thursday for the Wyoming Senate Revenue Committee about Senate File 171, which supporters said is necessary to “push back” against national efforts to track firearms and ammunition purchases with credit cards.
Committee member Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, questioned how effective the measure would be given that credit card merchant codes are set at the federal level and therefore not subject to Wyoming law.
He also called for an amendment to have the word “bank” removed from the bill and replaced with “financial institution” to offer some protection to Wyoming banks and credit unions. That amendment failed.
The committee decided to forward SF 171 to the state Senate, with Pappas casting the sole vote against it.
Yes votes also came from Sens. Tim French, R-Powell, Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, Troy McKeown, R-Gillette, and Bob Ide, R-Casper.
Government Tracking?
Last year, major credit card networks announced they would assign a specific merchant category code to firearms and ammunition purchases, said the bill’s main sponsor, Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell.
That was done under the auspices of aiding anti-terrorism efforts. However, it will make it easier for the government to pry into the privacy of law-abiding gun owners, Laursen said.
“I definitely don’t want that information to be able to get to agencies or law enforcement without due cause,” he said.
McKeown agreed.
“I don’t want the government knowing I bought a Twinkie, let alone a gun,” he said.
The bill would hold entities that release information about credit card firearms and ammunition purchases liable and possibly fined up to $30,000 for each offense.
Banks Caught In The Crossfire?
Meier and others testifying for banks and credit unions said local branches have no authority over credit card processing and how the information might be used by larger organizations at the national level.
Moreover, faced with liability complaints in the $30,000 range per instance, most banks would probably have to cave rather than face costly court battles, Meier said.
“This stuff, in my opinion, is legalized extortion,” he said about SF 171.
Has To Start Somewhere
Testifying in favor of the bill, Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, said the network, from the local level all the way up to huge national credit card processors, is interconnected.
“They’re all holding hands,” he said, adding that Wyoming needs to start pushing back against the erosion of Second Amendment rights.
“If we don’t start here, where do we start?,” Bouchard said.
Pappas said he was skeptical the bill could make any difference. Because Wyoming is such a small market, some large companies might just stop issuing credit cards to people here.
“They’re not going to care what our law says. That’s what I’m getting at,” he said. “Now, they won’t issue these credit cards to Wyoming citizens.”
