The U.S. House voted 221 to 201 to approve legislation that would block payment networks from requiring special merchant category codes for gun stores, a move gun rights activist and YouTuber Colion Noir described as a meaningful but unfinished victory for financial privacy.
In his video, Noir said H.R. 1181, known as the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act, would prevent companies such as Visa and Mastercard from assigning or requiring codes designed specifically to identify firearms retailers.
The bill passed with support from 215 Republicans, five Democrats, and one independent, according to information Noir cited from USA Carry. One Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, voted against it alongside 200 Democrats.
Noir argued that the debate has often been described as a fight over tracking dangerous purchases, but he said the code itself cannot reveal what a person actually bought. In his view, that limitation changes the entire meaning of the proposal.
The Code Identifies the Store, Not the Product
Merchant category codes are numbers used by credit card companies to classify different kinds of businesses. Restaurants, gas stations, hotels, and many other retailers already operate under their own categories.
A firearm-specific code would identify a transaction as taking place at a business mainly involved in selling guns, ammunition, parts, or accessories.
However, Noir stressed that the code does not produce an itemized shopping list. Citing reporting used in his video from The Reload, he explained that it could show someone spent $200 at a gun store, but it could not determine whether the purchase involved a firearm, ammunition, a cleaning kit, clothing, or another product.
That lack of detail is central to his criticism. Noir said a system promoted as a way to detect possible mass shooters would be unable to see whether a customer bought anything connected to a shooting at all.
“It can see one thing: that you were there,” he said.
That is an important distinction because a location-based financial flag can sweep in ordinary customers along with anyone authorities may actually have reason to investigate. A broad tool may sound useful in theory, but its value becomes harder to defend when it cannot separate harmless purchases from truly suspicious behavior.
Supporters Said the Codes Could Help Prevent Violence
The long-running effort to create a separate merchant code for gun stores grew from arguments that financial companies could spot unusual purchasing patterns before violence occurred.
Noir said the idea was publicly promoted in 2018 by a New York Times columnist who pointed to cases in which mass shooters used credit or debit cards to purchase weapons and ammunition.
The International Organization for Standardization later created a gun retailer code, and major payment companies announced plans to use it. That decision quickly produced resistance from gun rights groups and lawmakers, while gun control organizations supported the change.
Noir quoted Kris Brown, president of the gun control group Brady, who argued that merchant codes could help identify gun traffickers, recognize people building an “arsenal,” and stop violence before it starts.
Noir focused on the phrase “before it starts,” arguing that the system would flag people before they had committed any crime or made any threat.
He also cited a letter from 100 Republican members of Congress warning that some gun control advocates could view any effort to buy or own a firearm as suspicious by itself.
From Noir’s perspective, that is the point where a customer becomes a potential investigative lead merely for entering a lawful business.
Noir Called It a Backdoor Registry
Noir said the code was less useful as a crime-fighting tool than as a way to build a list of people who shop at firearm retailers.
He pointed to the National Rifle Association’s argument that the bill would prevent credit card companies from creating what it called a backdoor registry of lawful gun owners, one that could later be accessed by government agencies or outside groups.
The code would not show exactly who owned which gun, but Noir argued that a database of firearm-store transactions could still become a powerful tracking system. He warned that one subpoena, leak, policy change, or declared emergency could turn financial records into a list of people for authorities or activists to examine.
That concern is not difficult to understand, even for people who do not share every part of Noir’s argument. Data collected for one reason has a way of being reused for another, especially once the system already exists and the records are easy to search.
Noir said the danger was that private companies could quietly create the structure of a registry without Congress ever passing a direct national gun-registration law.
“The suspicious behavior is the gun purchase,” he said, summarizing what he believed was the thinking behind the code.
Five Democrats Joined the Majority
The House vote showed a small amount of bipartisan support, although the division remained sharp.
According to USA Carry’s figures cited by Noir, Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Adam Gray of California, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington voted for the bill.
Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California also supported it, while Fitzpatrick was the only Republican to vote no.
Noir praised the Democrats who crossed party lines and criticized Fitzpatrick without softening his position based on party labels. He said a vote against privacy remained a bad vote whether it came from a Republican or Democrat.
That approach gave his argument more weight than a simple party victory speech. He treated the issue as a test of financial and constitutional privacy rather than only another partisan scoreboard.
The bill would also create a single federal rule in place of conflicting state policies. Some states had required firearm-specific codes, while more than a dozen others had prohibited their use.
Under H.R. 1181, payment networks and processors would be barred from requiring or assigning a code used mainly to identify firearm businesses. The attorney general would oversee complaints and enforcement if the measure became law.
The Senate Remains the Larger Obstacle
Noir warned supporters not to celebrate too early because House passage does not place the bill into law.
A Senate companion measure has been introduced with 24 co-sponsors, but all of them are Republicans. Noir said the bill would need enough support to overcome a filibuster, which generally means reaching 60 votes.
Based on the current level of public support described in his video, he said the Senate version could easily stall in committee or disappear without a floor vote.
The House result therefore represents progress, but not a final outcome. The narrow crossover vote may show that some lawmakers outside the Republican conference are open to the argument, although far more would be needed in the Senate.
Noir urged viewers to contact their senators and ask them to support the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act before the measure loses momentum.
A Privacy Fight That Is Not Finished
Noir’s main argument was that financial institutions should not flag people simply because they spent money at a gun store, particularly when the system cannot identify the actual products purchased.
Supporters of the merchant code see it as one possible tool for recognizing unusual patterns linked to trafficking or future violence. Noir sees the same system as a way to mark lawful gun buyers before there is evidence of wrongdoing.
The House vote settled neither side of that larger debate, but it moved the federal government one step closer to banning firearm-specific merchant codes nationwide.
For now, H.R. 1181 has cleared one chamber by a 221-to-201 vote. Whether it becomes law will depend on whether supporters can build a much broader coalition in the Senate, where the political math is considerably more difficult.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
