Press Releases

Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and dozens of Congressional Democrats are pushing American Express, Visa, Mastercard, and Discover to explain why their companies have paused the implementation of a new Merchant Category Code (MCC) for gun and ammunition retailers that could help flag suspicious firearm purchases and prevent gun violence, gun trafficking, and domestic terrorism.

“We request that you resume this work and quickly implement the new firearm retailer MCC,” the lawmakers wrote, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.). “We also ask that you provide us with information to understand American Express’s hesitation to take this particular course of action to help prevent gun trafficking, gun violence, and domestic terrorism.”

In September 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created a new MCC, a four-digit code to classify merchants by their purpose of business, for sellers of guns and ammunition. This new code will help companies identify and flag suspicious purchases of firearms, like those that occurred before the Pulse nightclub and Aurora movie theater shootings. Lawmakers highlighted the financial industry’s unique position to help prevent the next mass shooting in this country. 

“It is likely that, if a firearm and ammunition retailer MCC had been operational at the time of those mass shootings, the uncharacteristically large sums spent on credit cards at firearm retailers within a short time span would have been recognized as suspicious and could have been flagged for law enforcement,” wrote the lawmakers. 

Despite the clear need for this simple category change, these four major credit card companies announced in March they were pausing their work to implement this rule, citing proposed state legislation as the rationale for their decisions. In the letter, the lawmakers argued that the credit card companies should instead take direction from the federal government and “at a minimum implement the MCC in all states where it remains legal.”

“(These companies) already (have) the processes in place to detect crimes such as money laundering and financial support for terrorist organizations,” concluded the lawmakers. “Given that (they have) the capacity to implement the firearm and ammunition retailer MCC and flag suspicious patterns of purchases, (their) pause in adoption of this MCC signals an unwillingness to address (their) role in financing gun trafficking, gun violence, and acts of domestic terrorism.” 

The letters are available here.

The letter was also signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Troy Carter (D-La.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.), Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Al Green (D-Texas), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Bradley Schneider (D-Ill.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.).

Pingree is a strong supporter of common-sense gun violence prevention measures that protect American communities and save lives. 

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