By Harold Hutchison
Fox News host Tucker Carlson and talk radio host Glenn Beck blasted credit card companies Thursday evening over a new merchant code for firearms purchases.
“If you wanted to ban guns, not just assault rifles or ghost guns, bump stocks, all guns, you want to ban guns, you want to disarm the population, the first thing you would do is track the purchase of guns. Not surprisingly, that’s now happening,” Carlson said. “So Visa, the largest payment processor in the world has announced it’s going to track your gun purchases. They’ve established a new merchandise category gun for gun and ammunition retailers. Not just guns, ammo, too. Mastercard and AmEx announced similar plans.”
The International Standards Organization (ISO) announced the new Merchant Category Code (MCC) Sept. 9, Reuters reported. Amalgamated Bank, a New York-based bank that supports “social justice” called for the new code alongside Congressional Democrats and officials in New York and California.
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“They’re all doing it because they were told to do it by a politician, which shouldn’t be allowed, but it is, and that politician is Elizabeth Warren, who is flat-out unbalanced. We’ve shown you the videos. Warren sent those companies a letter this month. The letter says the goal of tracking purchases is to prevent mass shootings and terrorism,” Carlson said, before introducing Beck.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Democratic Rep. Madeline Dean of Pennsylvania wrote the CEOs of Visa, MasterCard and American Express Sept. 2, demanding they adopt a new MCC for firearms and ammunition sales.
“If anyone thinks this is about gun registry or helping people decide, why does Visa go on to say ‘It has been our commitment around the world to uphold the privacy of cardholders. Also our rules require financial institutions involved in transactions to evaluate and process all legal transactions. Our network does not allow any financial institution member to deny transaction for the purpose of legal goods or services,’” Beck asked.
“Why did Visa suddenly change their mind? ESG pressure is my guess and this is the next step in banning guns,” Beck said. (RELATED: ‘Disarming You Is The Point’: Tucker Slams Biden’s Gun Control Speech)
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri sent the CEOs of American Express, Visa and MasterCard a letter criticizing their decision to adopt the MCC for gun stores. Almost two dozen Republican state attorneys general also wrote the credit card companies, demanding they reverse course on the ISO policy, according to the Washington Examiner.
“The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a global standards-setting organization, decided to establish a new merchant category code (MCC) for ‘gun and ammunition stores,’” Visa wrote in a Sept. 13 blog post. “Many misunderstand what that means and are, in turn, advocating the use of MCCs to ‘track’ gun sales as a potential tool in combatting gun violence. That’s not what merchant codes are designed for, nor should they be.”
“We do not believe private companies should serve as moral arbiters. Asking private companies to decide what legal products or services can or cannot be bought and from what store sets a dangerous precedent. Further, it would be an invasion of consumers’ privacy for banks and payment networks to know each of our most personal purchasing habits,” the credit card company said.
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