New York Now Tracking Gun and Ammo Purchases. Is Mandatory Reporting Next?

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has officially signed a package of three gun control bills into law, including one that mandates firearm and ammunition purchases be categorized separately by credit card companies. As reported by Johan Sheridan at ABC News 10, the bills include a ban on pistol converters, stricter signage requirements at gun shops, and new tracking mechanisms tied directly to credit card transactions.

While the laws vary in scope, the bill most drawing public attention is S745/A439. This legislation requires credit card companies to utilize merchant category codes for firearm-related sales – a move critics say could allow for broad surveillance of lawful gun owners. Ammo dealers were initially included but were dropped from the final version of the bill.

Tracking, Categorizing… Then What?

In a guest appearance on Fox News, gun activist and Second Amendment advocate Colion Noir calls the new law a “dangerous precedent,” pointing out its resemblance to Operation Chokepoint under the Obama administration. That program infamously pressured financial institutions to deny services to firearms-related businesses without due process.

“This isn’t about safety. It’s about surveillance,” Noir said bluntly. “Why else would you want to know what legal people are doing legally in terms of purchasing firearms, unless you have the intention of using it to discriminate against them?”

Indeed, the concern isn’t about what’s written in the law – but what may come next. Noir questions whether financial records could soon be flagged to authorities, potentially leading to de-banking or even mandatory reporting of specific purchases.

From Merchant Code to Potential Blacklist?

Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, who sponsored the merchant code bill, defended the measure as a preemptive safety tool. “We are equipping financial institutions with a critical tool to help detect suspicious activity before it becomes a tragedy,” she said, according to ABC News 10.

But to gun owners, that rationale sounds all too familiar – and all too broad. Categorizing a perfectly legal purchase as “suspicious” opens the door to arbitrary red flags and targeted enforcement. The real fear isn’t about stopping criminals – it’s about turning regular citizens into suspects by default.

From Policy to Precedent: Critics See a Bigger Agenda

In his Fox News appearance, Colion Noir reminds viewers that these policies tend to metastasize. “If this works in New York, other states won’t be far behind,” he warned.

In a Reddit thread dealing with the topic, Reddit user u/pcvcolin echoed that worry in a widely upvoted comment: “She’ll have to deal with a federal bill overriding that pretty soon. Cry all she wants, the NY (and CA law and CO law now doing the same thing) will be voided by federal law.”

Noir and others argue that once systems are built to categorize and track, the temptation to monitor, regulate, and restrict only grows. With the infrastructure in place, policy changes can happen quickly and quietly.

Credit Cards as Surveillance Tools

At the heart of this issue is the role of credit card companies. Unlike a state-run registry, this law empowers private financial institutions to create a quasi-database of who’s buying guns and how often.

One Reddit user pointed out that New York already requires extensive documentation for ammunition sales – including manufacturer, bullet type, and lot numbers. “I’ll just keep using cash when I buy ammo at stores outside of NY while on vacation,” they added.

That workaround may be common, but the law is aimed precisely at closing that escape route – especially for online purchases that require a digital trail.

Online Sales in the Crosshairs

One Reddit user, u/ZheeDog, who originally posted the story on r/progun, zeroed in on a core concern: “This is aimed at choking off mail order/internet ammo purchases from out of state; those cannot be done via cash.”

And they’re right. While in-state purchases can often be done anonymously with cash, online sales require billing addresses, payment processing, and shipping records. By forcing those transactions into a categorized system, New York is building a digital paper trail – one that doesn’t go away.

Is This the “Soft Ban” Approach?

Some gun rights advocates are calling this tactic a “soft ban.” Instead of outlawing firearms or ammunition outright, the state makes it incrementally more difficult, expensive, or risky to buy them.

u/tsatech493 summed up the frustration: “They pass some really rickety unconstitutional gun law and then we have to wait 8 years for it to get anywhere!”

This slow erosion of rights, critics argue, creates a system where the Second Amendment remains technically intact – but practically out of reach for anyone who can’t afford the surveillance risk.

West Virginia and the Red-State Rebellion

Not all states are buying in. In sharp contrast to New York’s law, states like West Virginia have passed bills explicitly banning credit card companies from tracking gun-related transactions.

Reddit user u/Rapidfiremma noted the divide: “I swear that we are becoming 2 separate countries. I’m in WV and we passed a law the exact opposite that prohibited credit card companies from tracking gun-related purchases.”

This divide is both political and geographic – and it’s growing. The idea of federal constitutional rights being unevenly applied based on ZIP code is no longer a theory. It’s a daily reality.

Slippery Slopes and Slower Courts

For those holding out hope for legal recourse, frustration is mounting. Redditor u/Swimming_Pea9385 expressed what many feel: “Temporarily??? I’ve completely lost faith in the Supreme Court and this administration.. they’ll get away with it forever.”

And indeed, gun rights cases can take years to reach the Supreme Court. By the time a ruling is handed down, the damage – both legal and cultural – may already be done.

Legal Ammo, Illicit Intent?

Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris defended the new signage law as a public safety measure: “Education and information are key to responsible gun ownership,” he said in the ABC News 10 article.

But as the laws pile up – from tracking credit card sales to rewriting signage requirements – it raises a chilling question: Is the state subtly reshaping how the public perceives lawful gun ownership itself?

What was once seen as a right is now treated as a regulated privilege. And every added law, no matter how seemingly benign, chips away at the cultural acceptance of the Second Amendment.

Public Safety or Power Grab?

Let’s be honest – no one believes this bill will stop mass shootings. As Colion Noir pointed out, “The vast majority of mass shooters bought their guns legally. This law would literally do nothing to stop the thing they’re claiming it’s going to stop.”

So why pass it?

Because it expands the state’s ability to watch, flag, and potentially suppress gun owners. Because it creates a precedent for other states to follow. And because it normalizes the idea that constitutional rights can be subject to corporate scrutiny.

In the end, this isn’t about how you pay. It’s about what that payment reveals – and who’s watching.

Mandatory Reporting on the Horizon?

New York’s latest move is more than a state-level policy – it’s a national test case. If this law stands, expect similar tracking mechanisms to appear in blue states across the country.

And if that happens, it may not be long before “category codes” become mandatory reporting requirements, and simple purchases become grounds for investigation.

As the Reddit crowd aptly put it, the battle isn’t theoretical anymore – it’s here, it’s digital, and it’s happening at the checkout counter.

For additional info, check out the ABC News 10 article here, Colion Noir’s video here, and the Reddit thread here.