NRA-ILA 5/31/2023
Texas Legislature Ends Regular Session After Passing a Trio of Pro-Second Amendment Bills & Rejecting Gun Control Measures
The Texas House and Senate passed the following key measures:
House Bill 2837, by Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), prevents financial institutions and their agents from requiring the use of a firearms-specific merchant category code (MCC) to distinguish purchases at a Texas firearms retailer, rather than using a general merchandise retailer code or a sporting goods retailer code. It protects the privacy rights of lawful purchasers of firearms or ammunition by prohibiting the misuse of payment card processing systems to surveil, report or disclose these legal transactions. Gun control advocates successfully pressured activist banks on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to create a unique MCC for licensed firearms dealers. Now, they are pushing lawmakers to require credit card companies to use these MCCs to gather data on and track lawful firearms purchases. Since the federal government is prohibited by law from creating and maintaining a registry of gun owners, they are attempting to outsource this effort to the private financial sector. This bill has been sent to Governor Abbott for his signature!
House Bill 1760, by Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant), addresses roving “gun-free” zones created when school activities take place off-campus in public buildings or private venues, such as the Capitol, zoos, and libraries, by limiting restrictions on firearms possession to actual premises owned by, and under control of, a school, or locations where high school, collegiate, and UIL activities as described in Penal Code Section 46.03, are taking place. Without this important clarification, the “school activities” provision in 46.03 can be misapplied to include any place students are ever present or anywhere "educational activities" are taking place off-campus. This bill has been signed into law by Governor Abbott!
House Bill 3137, by Rep. Carrie Isaac (R-Wimberley), restricts municipalities or counties under the state firearms preemption law from requiring firearm owners to obtain liability insurance. This bill has been sent to Governor Abbott for his signature!
More:
https://www.nraila.org/articles/20230531/texas-legislature-ends-regular-session-after-passing-a-trio-of-pro-second-amendment-bills-rejecting-gun-control-measures
