NASHVILLE – Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has issued a letter to three of the nation's leading credit card financial institutions regarding their compliance with the Tennessee Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, which will take effect on July 1, 2024. The letter was addressed to American Express, Inc., Mastercard, Inc., and Visa Inc., as well as their respective Chief Executive Officers.
In September 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a European-based organization, voted to create and adopt a Merchant Category Code (MCC) specifically targeting firearm retailers. In response, the Tennessee legislature passed legislation in 2023, signed by the Governor, to prevent financial institutions from using an MCC code that targets firearms dealers separately from regular sales. This act was a direct response to efforts by activists attempting to bypass the legislative process by asking a foreign non-governmental organization to impose this policy on Americans.
"The credit card companies have known this is coming and need to be prepared to comply with Tennessee’s new Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act the day it goes into effect," said Attorney General Skrmetti. "If they are not able to do that, I will not hesitate to enforce the law duly enacted by the elected representatives of the people of Tennessee."
The full letter sent to credit card financial institutions can be found here.