Policy

Credit card companies caught in battle over gun rights

The New York Senate last week approved the latest salvo in the ongoing battle.
Credit card companies have gotten caught up in the debate over gun rights. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

The world’s largest credit card companies are caught in the crossfire between gun rights supporters and gun safety advocates over new and conflicting laws relating to the codes those companies use to categorize the purchase of firearms and ammunition.

Lawmakers in red states have approved legislation prohibiting the use of merchant category codes — used to track purchases of virtually every type of good or service — relating to firearms and ammunition. Lawmakers in blue states have approved bills requiring credit card companies to use those codes.

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