Why It Matters: Introduced on January 3, 2024, New Hampshire House Bill 1186 (HB 1186) – An Act Relative to Firearm Purchaser’s Privacy, seeks to protect Granite Staters from being tracked or halted by financial institutions when purchasing firearms and ammunition. HB 1186 was referred to the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on the same day. A public hearing was held on January 17, 2024. Prior to the Committee’s Executive Session on February 7, 2024, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) submitted written testimony in support of HB 1186. on January 31, 2024. On February 13, 2024, HB 1186 received two separate opinions: one from the Majority Committee Report in favor (“Ought to Pass”) and one from the Minority Committee Report recommending the bill Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL), setting up a debate on the House Floor in the near future.
Highlights
- HB 1186 prohibits the assigning of a specific merchant code to the sale of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories, and provides a civil penalty for violations of this prohibition. This bill further provides a mechanism for enforcement of this prohibition.
- The Firearm Purchaser’s Privacy Act prohibits a person or entity involved in facilitating or processing an electronic payment transaction and licensed to do business in this state, including a payment card issuer or payment card network, from assigning to a merchant or requiring a merchant to use a firearms code.
- For the purposes of the sale of firearms, ammunition for use in firearms, and firearms accessories, a firearms retailer may not provide a firearms code to a payment card issuer or payment card network and may only use or be assigned a merchant category code for general merchandise retailers or sporting goods retailers.
Introduced on January 3, 2024, New Hampshire House Bill 1186 (HB 1186) – An Act Relative to Firearm Purchaser’s Privacy, seeks to protect Granite Staters from being tracked or halted by financial institutions when purchasing firearms and ammunition. Protecting the personal information of sportsmen and women is paramount to the continued success of the time-honored outdoor traditions that have long been enjoyed by Granite Staters.
By prohibiting financial institutions from distinguishing firearm retailers from other general or sporting-goods retailers, as well as prohibiting the existence of a list or registry of privately owned firearms in the State, HB 1186 ensures that hunters and recreational shooters may continue to lawfully purchase the sporting equipment needed to partake in the outdoor traditions that have stood as societal pillars in New Hampshire for generations, without fear of their firearm purchases ending up on a list (or quasi-registry) held by a private institution. Moreover, the bill protects non-firearm purchasers who purchase other sporting goods or retail items from a merchant that also engages in firearms sales, from mistakenly being categorized as a firearm owner. Merchant Code Categories, as presently utilized, are specific to the retailer, and not to the individual items purchased when visiting said retailer. Without this bill, someone that goes to a sporting goods store and purchases a tent, a fishing rod, or a pair of hiking socks, could inadvertently end up on a firearms registry owned and controlled by a private corporation.
Without this important consumer protection, hunters and recreational shooters in New Hampshire could be subject to discrimination by financial or anti-sportsmen organizations, which would likely deter participation and decrease critical conservation funding. The passage of HB 1186 should be supported by all New Hampshire sportsmen and women. Support can be by way of calling local representatives, letter writing, and educating those in your community on the threats of merchant coding and tracking.
