Bill bans credit card companies from tracking gun purchases
Alabama lawmakers gave final passage Tuesday to a bill to prohibit credit card companies from requiring the use of a code that distinguishes firearms purchases from other transactions
SB281 by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, also says a financial institution cannot decline a purchase on a payment card solely because it is a gun purchase.
And it says a government entity cannot keep a list or registry of privately owned guns and gun owners.
The House of Representatives passed SB281 by a vote of 85-5 with nine abstentions. The Senate had passed it 32-0 last week. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, who can sign it into law.
“The right to own firearms is enshrined in our nation’s Bill of Rights, and gun owners should be allowed to purchase a weapon without worrying about a private company tracking their actions and collecting data without their permission,” Rep. Shane Stringer, a Republican from Mobile County, said in a press release issued by the House Republican caucus. “The freedoms and liberties that too many among us take for granted are under constant threat today, and this legislation seeks to preserve the Second Amendment gun rights of all Alabamians.”
According to the Republican caucus, 11 states -Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming – have passed similar legislation.