It’s been almost a year since we’ve seen this idea put to bed—or so we thought. Several news sources report that firearms buyers in California are about to see special credit card tracking codes coming into use, which would enable financiers and other parties to track their gun purchases.

Here’s how it works. When you buy something with your credit card, the seller can file a four-digit merchant category code with the payment, to tell the credit card company what you bought. Previously in the U.S., firearms were filed under the same code as sporting goods. Based on the information available to them, Mastercard’s head office would have no way of knowing whether you bought a Benelli or a baseball bat, and they’d be unable to forward any reliable information from that merchant category code to other organizations.

Now, the state of California is requiring banks and credit card merchants to create a new four-digit merchant category code for transactions by firearms or ammunition sellers. The deadline for the new codes to come into effect is May 2025, but after considerable controversy last winter, financiers scrapped their plans to roll the system out across the U.S. Apparently, California regulators poked the banks and credit card companies in January of 2024 to ask what the hold-up was. Visa, Mastercard and American Express all reportedly said they would comply to meet the deadline.

It does not seem that every firearm or ammunition sale will be affected by this tracking code. Most of the news reports seem to say this merchant code will be applied to “suspicious purchases,” but the text of California Assembly Bill 1587 does not mention such details. Boiled down to its essence, the law basically says that a business that makes the majority of its income from gun or ammo sales must use these new merchant codes.

Wait, does that mean GunsLA.com must use the codes, but Cabela’s doesn’t have to? These and other questions remain unanswered and will no doubt be battled in court in the months to come, just like most gun control legislation. And what about the other states who stand in opposition to this idea, crafting legislation against specific merchant category codes for firearms sellers? Several Republican-led states are moving against the idea, while other states are considering adopting the codes. Stay tuned!