AG Skrmetti Warns Financial Institutions to Fully Comply with the Tennessee Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act

NASHVILLE – Today, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sent a letter to three of the nation’s leading credit card financial institutions concerning their plans to begin complying with the Tennessee Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act that goes into effect on July 1, 2024. The Office of the Attorney General submitted this letter to American Express, Inc., Mastercard, Inc., and Visa Inc. and their respective Chief Executive Officers.

In September of 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a European based organization, voted to create and adopt a Merchant Category Code (MCC) specifically targeting firearm retailers. In 2023, the Tennessee legislature passed legislation, with the Governor’s signature, to block financial institutions from using an MCC code targeting firearms dealers and institutions separate from regular sales. The Act was passed in direct response to the efforts of activists attempting to circumvent the legislative process by asking a foreign non-governmental organization to impose this policy on Americans.

“The credit card companies have known this is coming and need to be prepared to comply with Tennessee’s new Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act the day it goes into effect,” said Attorney General Skrmetti. “If they are not able to do that, I will not hesitate to enforce the law duly enacted by the elected representatives of the people of Tennessee.”

 The full letter sent to credit card financial institutions can be found here.

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