Colorado lawmaker: Credit card tracking of gun purchases could’ve saved son’s life
DENVER (KDVR) — A measure that would require firearms dealers to allow payment processing companies to track firearm and ammunition purchases is advancing through the Colorado Capitol.
One of the bill’s prime sponsors, Sen. Tom Sullivan, says this kind of measure may have kept his son alive if it had been implemented. Sullivan’s son was one of the 12 victims of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting.
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The measure, Firearms Merchant Category Code, would require “certain networks that facilitate payment transactions” like Visa or Mastercard to provide a code for firearms and ammunition, ensuring banks and credit card companies can track firearm transactions. That means these companies would be able to report suspicious patterns — like someone attempting to build an arsenal for domestic terrorism — to law enforcement if Governor Jared Polis signs the bill into law.
The bill would also give the Colorado Attorney General’s Office enforcement authority to fine violators up to $10,000 for each violation or request an injunction to prevent further violations.
The goal is to prevent more gun violence in Colorado. Sullivan, a Democrat representing Centennial, said the Aurora theater shooter used a credit card to purchase multiple firearms and thousands of ammunition rounds.
“In the weeks before my son Alex was killed in the Aurora Theater shooting, his killer purchased multiple firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition – and nobody batted an eye,” Sullivan said in a release. The Aurora shooter used a Mastercard to buy about $11,000 worth of weapons and military gear in the weeks before the mass shooting.
“Credit cards have been repeatedly used to finance mass shootings, and merchant codes would have allowed the credit card companies to recognize his alarming pattern of behavior and refer it to law enforcement. This bill will give us more tools to protect people, and make it easier to stop illegal firearms-related activity like straw purchases before disaster strikes,” Sullivan said.
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The Colorado House voted in approval of the bill, as did the Senate, but has garnered many amendments during the legislative process. A final House vote is scheduled for Thursday.
The measure would require credit card companies to make the merchant category code for firearms available on or after Sept. 1, and on May 1, 2025, the codes would be assigned and could then be tracked.
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