GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 38
Short Title: Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Pyrtle, Miller, Goodwin, and Chesser (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Commerce and Economic Development, if favorable, Judiciary 1, if favorable,
Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
February 5, 2025
*H38-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ENACT THE SECOND AMENDMENT FIN ANCIAL PRIVACY ACT. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
SECTION 1. Chapter 66 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 4
to read: 5
"Article 52. 6
"Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act. 7
"§ 66-511. Legislative findings. 8
The General Assembly finds all of the following: 9
(1) The right of individuals to keep and bear arms is guaranteed under both the 10
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 30 of 11
Article I of the North Carolina Constitution. 12
(2) In September 2022, the International Organization for Standardization, based 13
in Switzerland, approved a new merchant category code for firearms 14
merchants. 15
(3) The new merchant category code would allow payment card networks and 16
others involved in payment card processing to identify and separately track 17
lawful payment card purchases at firearms merchants in North Carolina. This 18
surveillance would cause a significant chilling effect on individuals in North 19
Carolina wishing to exercise their federal and State constitutional rights to 20
keep and bear arms. 21
(4) In order to protect consumers in this State and promote lawful commerce in 22
this State, the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act prohibits payment 23
card networks from using a firearms code or maintaining a firearms registry. 24
"§ 66-512. Definitions. 25
The following definitions apply in this Article: 26
(1) Firearms code. – Any code or other indicator that identifies to a payment card 27
network any of the following: 28
a. Whether a person is a firearms merchant. 29
b. Whether a payment involves the purchase of a firearm or firearm 30
ammunition. 31
(2) Firearms merchant. – A person engaged in the lawful business of selling or 32
trading firearms or firearm ammunition. 33 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 38-First Edition
(3) Payment card network. – An entity involved in facilitating or processing an 1
electronic transfer of funds between a merchant and a customer using a 2
payment card. This term does not include the following: 3
a. A bank holding federally insured deposits from individuals. 4
b. A credit union holding federally insured deposits from individuals. 5
"§ 66-513. Prohibitions. 6
(a) No payment card network shall use a firearms code in connection with a payment 7
card transaction involving a firearms merchant located in this State. 8
(b) No payment card network shall knowingly maintain a record of individuals residing 9
in this State who own firearms. 10
(c) No payment card network shall discriminate against a firearms merchant based solely 11
on the assignment or nonassignment of a firearms code, including by refusing to serve on similar 12
terms or declining a lawful payment card transaction. 13
"§ 66-514. Enforcement; civil penalty. 14
(a) The Attorney General may investigate an alleged violation of this Article. After notice 15
and an opportunity for hearing, if the Attorney General determines that a payment card network 16
violated this Article, the Attorney General may assess a civil penalty of not more than ten 17
thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation. The clear proceeds of any penalty assessed 18
pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance 19
with G.S. 115C-457.2. 20
(b) The powers vested in the Attorney General by this Article are in addition to and do 21
not limit the ability of the Attorney General to take other enforcement action. 22
"§ 66-515. Civil liability for violation. 23
(a) Cause of Action. – A civil action may be brought against a payment card network for 24
violation of this Article by any of the following: 25
(1) A firearms merchant located in this State whose payment card transactions are 26
designated with a firearms code. 27
(2) A person that makes a payment card transaction with a firearms merchant 28
located in this State and whose payment card record includes a firearms code 29
for that transaction. 30
(3) An individual for whom a payment card network maintains a record of firearm 31
ownership. 32
(b) Relief and Damages. – A person authorized to institute a civil action by subsection 33
(a) of this section may seek and the court may award any or all of the following types of relief: 34
(1) An injunction to enjoin continued violation of this Article. 35
(2) Statutory damages in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each 36
instance of violation of this Article connected to the person filing the civil 37
action. 38
(3) Costs and attorneys' fees. 39
(c) Statute of Limitations. – No action shall be maintained under subsection (a) of this 40
section unless it is commenced no later than three years after the discovery of the violation of 41
this Article." 42
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025. 43