By: Friedrich Seiltgen

Copyright © 2023

Discover Financial Services, a provider of credit cards, told Reuters it would allow its network to track purchases at gun retailers starting this April, making it the first credit card to move ahead with the initiative allegedly aimed at helping authorities probe gun crimes.

In September 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) based in Geneva created a dedicated classification code for gun retailers, entitled “5723 – Gun and Ammunition Shops.” This code will give financial institutions the ability to track firearm and ammunition purchases made with a credit card.

“The decision to use the new merchant category code is eventually left up to the users in the industry,” the ISO representative said.

Gun control activists and liberal politicians, along with their RINO counterparts, claim the code will allow financial institutions to better assist law enforcement in investigating gun crimes because, as we all know, criminals always purchase guns with their own credit cards.

When the new code was created, credit card companies said they would work to implement the code while respecting privacy rights.

Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have yet to disclose their timetable for adopting the change; at the same time, Discover said it would include the new code in its next policy and product update to merchants and customers in April.

“We remain focused on continuing to protect and support lawful purchases on our network while protecting the privacy of cardholders,” Discover said in its statement to Reuters.

Sorry, Discover, this is an oxymoron. The system will be abused, and gun owners purchasing legal products will be punished.

A few lawmakers have spoken out against the code, arguing it “could” violate the privacy of U.S. citizens lawfully buying guns. The politicians we elect to represent us are paying lip service to the move, and as usual, gun rights groups are doing the heavy lifting trying to stop it.

That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”

Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism Counterstrategies, Firearms, and Active Shooter Response. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, www.floridajolt.com, The Counterterrorist Magazine, Off Grid, American Thinker, Soldier of Fortune, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International. Contact him at [email protected].