Colorado bill would be a step toward gun registration

I just submitted the following testimony against SB 24066 — Firearms Merchant Category Code on the Colorado Legislature’s website. Here it is verbatim.

“I am writing to voice my opinion against SB 24-066, which seeks to require merchants who deal in firearms and related equipment to use a specific Merchant Category Code to identify those purchases and thereby the personal identification of the purchasers of such equipment to government officials. This is simply a back-door method of creating a gun registration, which is in flagrant violation of Federal law and historically always the first step to gun confiscation.

“This bill is an obvious attack on law-abiding citizens’ privacy, and subversively against their constitutional rights. I can think of no other reason to identify and disclose such information other than intimidation and suppression of rights and to begin a gun registration list. No data has been presented showing statistics on how many criminals buy guns or ammunition using credit cards, and no explanation has been given on the reasons behind or the supposed benefits of such a law. It’s simply harassment and tracking of the 32% of Americans that are legal gun owners.

“Shall we also require such a merchant code for those using their credit cards to donate to the Democrat Party or to the Republican Party, or to purchase protest signs, or Bibles, or American flags? This is a very bad path to start down.”

No matter which side of the aisle you stand on, registering people for any of their personal activities is a very bad idea.