By: Anthony Morelli
This will be fascinating to watch as Trump takes office in January.
Congress just delivered him a challenge.
And Americans will be waiting to see what he does on this critical gun control fight.
It can be very hard to pin down where Donald Trump stands on guns, as it does not seem to be a core issue that he feels passionately about either way.
He has done some things that have made various supporters of gun freedoms upset, such as the bump stock ban that he implemented by executive order as president.
But he has also said things that indicate he is supportive of gun rights, and it can be difficult to know exactly where he stands at times.
Whatever his plans are on the gun issue during his second term, they may become clear very quickly, as Congress isn’t waiting around.
Republicans in the House are pushing hard for legislation that will prevent credit card companies from specifically tracking gun purchases.
And how Trump responds to this issue, or if he even responds at all, will set the tone for his entire term as president.
According to The Truth About Guns, “The controversy over a new Merchant Category Code (MCC) specifically for purchase of guns and ammunition continues to grow and is now gaining attention at the federal level.
“At issue is a new MCC for gun purchases adopted by the International Organization for Standardization in early 2023. MCCs are used by payment processors (like Visa and Mastercard) and other financial services companies to categorize transactions.”
Gun owners are concerned that, should they be targeted by the government, these codes will make it significantly easier for the government to do so.
People who are supportive of the Second Amendment want there to be fewer tools for gun owners to be targeted, not more tools.
The article continues, “Now, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation to halt the use of the gun-specific MCC nationwide, thereby protecting gun owners’ privacy. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky wrote in a November 4 op-ed posted at Newsweek.com that their legislation, the Protecting Privacy in Purchasing Act, is meant to protect America’s gun owners from unnecessary intrusion by financial institutions.”
“In the end, Reps. Stefanik and Barr believe passage of their legislation is critical for protecting both gun owners and the Second Amendment.”
It is highly unlikely this will be taken up with Biden as the president, which means its best chance of passage will be once Trump takes office again.
But no one knows exactly where Trump stands on this, and so it will be very revealing to see whether he joins Barr and Stefanik in this fight or refuses to.
Either way, gun owners will be watching his administration with great interest to see what he does.
And Second Amendment supporters are hoping that he won’t waffle and that he will be an advocate for the interests of gun owners.