Visa, Mastercard, Amex to categorize gun sales
(CBS DETROIT) - Visa, Mastercard and American Express have announced they're creating a new purchase code to identify gun sales.
"They're already doing background checks and I don't see how this is going to make any difference," said Mike Barbour, owner of Top Gun Shooting Sports in Taylor.
Barbour said he doesn't believe it's necessary for credit card companies or banks to make decisions relating to gun purchases.
"What's next, are they going to say to someone you're too high risk or you've bought too many guns so you can't bank with us," Barbour said.
According to Gun Control advocates, identifying large purchases could help identify suspicious purchases made by potential mass shooters.
For example, in three separate mass shootings, the eventual mass shooters funded their killing spree using credit cards.
In Aurora, Colorado in 2012, the would be killer charged nearly $9,000 for guns, ammunition and tactical gear.
In Orlando, Florida in 2016, the would be killer charged roughly $26,000 on his credit cards for guns and ammunition.
And in a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, the would be killer charged nearly $100,000 on his credit cards for weapons used to kill his victims.
Barbour said he is in total agreement that we need to figure out how to put an end to mass shootings, however he said he disagrees with most recent approach involving categorizing gun store purchases, but cautions about credit card companies and banks being able to decide who can buy a gun.
The change won't affect all gun sellers equally.
For instance, one interesting aspect of the change the credit card companies are making is the fact that only gun stores will be recategorized. Stores that sell a high volume of guns like Dunham's, Cabela's and Walmart will still be classified as "general merchandise" purchases - even if you buy a gun from those retail stores.
However, Barbour believes the opposite appears to be true in the case of making purchases at gun shops like Top Gun Sports Shooting.
"Even if you don't buy a gun from my store, even if you buy a t-shirt, the code will still read "gun store sale," said Barbour.
"It doesn't give you the details of the transaction so it could lead to someone asking more questions about the sale and that's an infringement of privacy into what people are spending their money on," he explained.
Gun control advocates like Progress Michigan said during a telephone interview that it does appear that the changes could identify suspicious purchases, but the details of how it would work remain unclear since the announcement is so new.
