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This article was usually leaning right.

Quotes:

"Visa, Mastercard, and Discover suspended their work on a code that would track gun purchases. The payment processors had previously committed to implementing the code, suggested by the International Organization for Standardization, which was aimed at helping to curb gun violence. The three decided to suspend the project this week, according to Bloomberg and confirmed in statements from the companies, after previously expressing growing skepticism over the idea."

"“There are bills advancing in several states related to the use of this new code. If passed, the result will be an inconsistency in how this ISO standard could be applied by merchants, issuers, acquirers, and networks,” a spokesman for Mastercard told the outlet. “It’s for that reason that we have decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific [merchant category code].”"

"Aside from being criticized by Second Amendment activists, the payment networks expressed concern over the fact that a distinction couldn't be made between the purchase of different types of weapons, such as pistols or assault rifles. Republican lawmakers threatened to sue the credit card companies, with some introducing legislation aimed at banning the practice in Florida and Mississippi."

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Payment giants suspend work on code that would track gun purchases

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Visa, Mastercard, and Discover suspended their work on a code that would track gun purchases.

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This source is usually leaning left.

Quotes:

"Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases."

"After Visa and Mastercard announced their plans to implement a separate merchant category code for gun shop purchases, the payment networks got significant pushback from the gun lobby as well as conservative politicians. A group of 24 GOP state attorneys general wrote a letter to the payment networks threatening legal action against them if they moved forward with their plan."

"In a statement, Visa indicated that the legal pushback was partially the reason it paused the implementation."

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/ AP

Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases.

The move is a setback for gun control groups. They say categorizing credit and debit card purchases might help authorities see potential red flags - like significant ammunition purchases - before a mass shooting could be carried out.

After Visa and Mastercard announced their plans to implement a separate merchant category code for gun shop purchases, the payment networks got significant pushback from the gun lobby as well as conservative politicians. A group of 24 GOP state attorneys general wrote a letter to the payment networks threatening legal action against them if they moved forward with their plan.

There are also bills pending in several state legislatures that would ban the tracking of purchases at gun shops. That would have made it even more difficult for Visa and Mastercard to implement the categorization.

In a statement, Visa indicated that the legal pushback was partially the reason it paused the implementation.

"There is now significant confusion and legal uncertainty in the payments ecosystem, and the state actions disrupt the intent of global standards," the company said.

Visa and Mastercard have said the gun shop categorization was a decision out of their control. The International Organization for Standardization, better known as ISO, is the group that categorizes merchant codes and Visa and Mastercard were just following their decision, the companies said. Gun control advocates lobbied for the change to ISO, not to Visa and Mastercard.

Visa and Mastercard's plan wouldn't have tracked individual gun buys. It would have broken out purchases at gun stores as a separate category.

But not all large purchases at a gun shop would have been considered a red flag. For example a purchase of a gun safe, which costs several thousands of dollars, would have been seen as a large purchase at a gun shop even though the safe is considered a responsible tool of gun ownership and unrelated to potential mass shootings.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who led the 24 state GOP group that pressured Visa and Mastercard, said in a statement that, "Visa and Mastercard came to the correct conclusion. However, they shouldn't just 'pause' their implementation of this plan-they should end it definitively."

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First published on March 10, 2023 / 4:46 AM

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Visa, Mastercard put tracking of gun shop purchases on hold

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AP Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases. The move is a setback for gun control groups.

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This source usually is left.

Quotes:

"Using the most recent CDC estimates for yearly deaths by guns in the United States, it is likely that as of today, 4/24/2023, roughly 374,892 people have died from guns in the U.S. since the Newtown shootings. Compare that number to the number of deaths reported in the news in our interactive below, and you can see how undertold the story of gun violence in America actually is."

"As time goes on, our count gets further and further away from the likely actual number of gun deaths in America—because roughly 60 percent of deaths by gun are due to suicides, which are very rarely reported. When discussing this issue, please note that our number is by design not accurate and only represents the number of gun deaths that the media can find out about contemporaneously. Part of the idea of this interactive is to point out how difficult it is to get accurate real-time numbers on this issue—and our inaccurate real-time number reflects that difficulty."

"Update, June 19, 2013: As time goes on, our count gets further and further away from the likely actual number of gun deaths in America—because roughly 60 percent of deaths by gun are due to suicides, which are very rarely reported. When discussing this issue, please note that our number is by design not accurate and represents only the number of gun deaths that the media can find out about contemporaneously. Part of the purpose of this interactive is to point out how difficult it is to get accurate real-time numbers on this issue."

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The answer to the simple question in that headline is surprisingly hard to come by. So Slate is collecting data for our crowdsourced interactive. This data is necessarily incomplete ( click here to see why, and to learn more about @GunDeaths, the Twitter user who helped us create this interactive). But the more people who are paying attention, the better the data will be. You can help us draw a more complete picture of gun violence in America. If you know about a gun death in your community that isn't represented here, please email a link to a news report to slatedata@gmail.com. And if you'd like to use this data yourself for your own projects, it's open. You can download it here.

Update, Dec. 31, 2013: After a year of gun deaths, is retiring this project. The count is being picked up by Michael Klein's Gun Violence Archive project, launching soon. Thank you to all who volunteered to make the data as comprehensive and accurate as possible.

Click a marker below to filter incidents by that location. Shows only the 1,000 locations with the most deaths.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Matched Deaths: or more between Newtown and Dec. 31, 2013

Show Methodology

Each person under 13 years of age is designated "child"; from 13 to 17: "teen"; 18 and older: "adult."

The same icons used to represent males is also used to represent individuals of unknown gender. The same icons used to represent adults is also used to represent people of unknown age group.

The yellow and blue backgrounds represent alternating days.

The information is collected by volunteers from news reports about the deaths. The Slate interactives team and these volunteers continually manage and revise the data.

The data are not comprehensive because not all gun-related deaths are reported by the news media. For example, suicides often go unreported.

Update, June 19, 2013: As time goes on, our count gets further and further away from the likely actual number of gun deaths in America-because roughly 60 percent of deaths by gun are due to suicides, which are very rarely reported. When discussing this issue, please note that our number is by design not accurate and represents only the number of gun deaths that the media can find out about contemporaneously. Part of the purpose of this interactive is to point out how difficult it is to get accurate real-time numbers on this issue.

Using the most recent CDC estimates for yearly deaths by guns in the United States, it is likely that as of today, , roughly people have died from guns in the U.S. since the Newtown shootings. Compare that number to the number of deaths reported in the news in our interactive below, and you can see how undertold the story of gun violence in America actually is.

Update, June 17, 2013: Slate launched its interactive feature "Gun Deaths in America Since Newtown" on Dec. 21, 2012, partnering with the creator of the Twitter feed @GunDeaths to assemble data on confirmed, reported gun-related fatalities in the United States since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. As of mid-May, 2013, @GunDeaths has stepped away from the project, graciously ceding the Twitter feed and responsibility for the interactive to . We are deeply grateful to that Twitter user for helping us create and maintain this interactive for so long. The best way to alert us to reported deaths is by sending a link to slatedata@gmail.com; please do check the interactive to confirm it's not listed already. Because email is more efficient a means of collecting this information than Twitter, we may very well miss information tweeted at @GunDeaths - please use email to ensure your story will be counted.

As time goes on, our count gets further and further away from the likely actual number of gun deaths in America-because roughly 60 percent of deaths by gun are due to suicides, which are very rarely reported. When discussing this issue, please note that our number is by design not accurate and only represents the number of gun deaths that the media can find out about contemporaneously. Part of the idea of this interactive is to point out how difficult it is to get accurate real-time numbers on this issue-and our inaccurate real-time number reflects that difficulty.

-Dan Kois, senior editor, Slate

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How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown?

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The answer to the simple question in that headline is surprisingly hard to come by. So Slate is collecting data for our crowdsourced interactive. This data is necessarily incomplete ( click here to see why, and to learn more about @GunDeaths, the Twitter user who helped us create this interactive).

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This source usually is right.

Quotes:

"The move is considered a major victory for gun control advocates who claim that better tracking of gun sales may help prevent future mass shootings. Other major payment processors, including Mastercard and American Express, have also said they plan to move forward with categorizing gun shop sales."

"Visa said it would adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) new merchant code for gun sales, reports the Associated Press. Until now, gun store sales were considered “general merchandise.” The code will show where an individual spends money but not what items were purchased, writes Reuters."

"Gun-rights activists are concerned the new code could lead to unauthorized surveillance and lead to further restrictions on Americans’ ability to lawfully purchase firearms."

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Visa, Mastercard, AmEx making it easier to track gun sales

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Visa Inc. said over the weekend that it plans to start separately categorizing sales at gun shops.The move is considered a major victory for gun control advocates who claim that better tracking of gun sales may help prevent future mass shootings. Other major payment processors, including Mastercard ...

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This source usually is left.

Quotes:

"An organization that sets standards for business transactions has voted to create a special code for gun stores to use when processing credit and debit card transactions, a move long sought by gun safety advocates who say it will help law enforcement officials spot suspicious purchases."

"“This approval is an important step towards improving coordination with law enforcement and preventing gun violence,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, one of the lawmakers who have been vocal on the issue. “In order for this new merchant code to be maximally effective, every financial institution and payment system needs to step up and put it to use.”"

"Letitia James, the New York attorney general, called the decision “a big victory,” adding, “I urge credit card companies to take the next step and flag suspicious transactions on gun and ammunition sales, like they do for fraud and money laundering.” Many of the banks and credit card companies in question are based in New York."

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Credit Card Sales at Gun Stores Would Be Flagged Under New Code

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The move was approved by a group that sets standards for business transactions, but it was unclear how companies and banks would carry it out.

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This news source usually leans right.

Quotes:

"The world’s largest credit card companies are caught in the middle of a political slugfest over a newly created category that tracks purchases at gun stores."

"“First, these threats of incipient legislation and nebulous repercussions should not drive your conduct in this essential area,” the Democrats said in a March 16 letter. “Second, we do not believe that any state interest could justify a government prohibiting you from coding or analyzing your data that way. In this context, we fear you are setting a precedent that invites further threats and interference in lawful, protected business practices.”"

"Indeed, the Democratic attorneys general ended the letter by warning that “your complicity with ongoing needless gun tragedies will lead us to consider further actions,” meaning the companies may face litigation and legislation no matter what steps they take"

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The world's largest credit card companies are caught in the middle of a political slugfest over a newly created category that tracks purchases at gun stores.

Fourteen Democratic attorneys general called on Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express to stick to their original plan to implement a merchant category code for credit and debit card sales at gun shops. The new code was "paused" earlier this month under pressure from 24 Republican state prosecutors.

The Democratic attorneys general told the credit card giants that it was "clear that your about-face is the result of a handful of state legislative proposals threatening penalties, and amorphous veiled threats from certain state attorneys general."

"First, these threats of incipient legislation and nebulous repercussions should not drive your conduct in this essential area," the Democrats said in a March 16 letter. "Second, we do not believe that any state interest could justify a government prohibiting you from coding or analyzing your data that way. In this context, we fear you are setting a precedent that invites further threats and interference in lawful, protected business practices."

Indeed, the Democratic attorneys general ended the letter by warning that "your complicity with ongoing needless gun tragedies will lead us to consider further actions," meaning the companies may face litigation and legislation no matter what steps they take.

The credit card companies acknowledged the political tension in their March 9 statements about the pause.

"Today, there are bills advancing in several states related to the use of this new code," Mastercard said. "If passed, the result will be an inconsistency in how this [International Organization for Standardization] standard could be applied by merchants, issuers, acquirers and networks. It's for that reason that we have decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC."

The debate illustrates the corporate risks of adopting policies of left-wing advocacy groups that Republicans oppose.

On Sept. 10, days after the Swiss-based IOS voted to create the classification, the companies announced that they would implement the merchant category code.

Their vote was a response to an application from Amalgamated Bank of New York City, a union-owned institution that bills itself as a "socially responsible bank." The IOS denied Amalgamated's 2021 application.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was among the Democrats who urged credit card companies to support the merchant category code.

"Mass shooters have repeatedly financed deadly massacres using credit cards, and Bank CEOs need to step up to save lives," Ms. Warren said in a Sept. 2 statement. "Financial institutions and payment networks, such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express can and should do everything they can to help law enforcement prevent some mass shootings by identifying suspicious gun purchases through the implementation of this new code."

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led the Republican opposition. He warned that the code "creates a 'list of gun buyers' and creates the obvious risk that law-abiding consumers' information will be obtained and misused by those who oppose Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights."

Florida, Montana, West Virginia and Wyoming are among the states that introduced legislation barring or limiting credit card companies from monitoring purchases of guns, ammunition and accessories.

The Republican prosecutors said gun control activists pressured the IOS to adopt the code, creating "the potential for both civil and criminal liability for conspiracy to deprive Americans of their civil rights."

"Social policy should be debated and determined within our political institutions," the Republican prosecutors said in a Sept. 20 letter. "Americans are tired of seeing corporate leverage used to advance political goals that cannot muster basic democratic support."

Mr. Knudsen later cheered the companies' decision to place the code on hold and urged them to make the pause permanent.

"These major credit card companies came to the correct conclusion. However, they shouldn't just 'pause' their implementation of this plan - they should end it definitively," Mr. Knudsen said.

The Democratic prosecutors noted the numerous codes for common products such as groceries and flowers, as well as for "stamp shops, tent shops, wig shops, car rental places, and various government services."

"Exempting firearm purchases from such a basic accounting will only make it harder to intercept and disrupt the next mass shooting," the Democrats said.

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Credit cards caught in political crosshairs over tracking firearms purchases

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The world's largest credit card companies are caught in the middle of a political slugfest over a newly created category that tracks purchases at gun stores. Fourteen Democratic attorneys general called on Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express to stick to their original plan to implement a merchant category code for credit and debit card sales at gun shops.

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This news source usually leans right.

Quotes:

"Gun rights advocates are outraged at a recent decision by major credit card companies to put gun sales into a new tracking category, calling the move an erosion of the Second Amendment."

"The move is a win for gun control advocates who argue that the system will help track suspicious purches which could lead to mass shootings. They argued that Uvalde elementary school gunman Salvador Ramos purchased his weapon using a bank card. Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock spent $95,000 on guns in the year before the shooting that killed 60 people in 2017."

"But the NRA said the policy was 'anti-gun' and would target law-abiding Americans who are legally allowed to purchase weapons."

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Credit card firms to CODE purchases from gun shops to track firearms

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Gun rights advocates are outraged at a recent decision by major credit card companies to put gun sales into a new tracking category, calling the move an erosion of the Second Amendment.

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This news source is usually right.

Quotes:

"Multiple payment processors such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have already joined a massive project to separately categorize gun shop sales. The move has been hailed as a victory for gun control advocates who argue that a separate categorization for gun store sales will help monitor suspicious activity that could lead to mass shootings. Gun rights advocates on the other hand, have warned this could bring unwarranted scrutiny on the overwhelming majority of law-abiding gun owners."

"One noteworthy nuance of this tracking system is that it monitors the total purchase made in a gun store, rather than distinguishing the specific items bought. So, purchasing supplies such as a gun safe or hunting gear, for example, would count toward that same purchase categorization in the same way a person would if they exclusively bought firearms and ammunition."

""Discover has no plans to track cardholder purchases of firearms or provide that information to anyone, nor could we. Merchant Category Codes are used to categorize types of stores, and do not enable us to see the product that was purchased. We are not alone in using these codes; they are used consistently by all the major payment networks. We strongly believe in the right of our customers to use their Discover cards for any legal purchase and remain committed to maintaining the privacy of their information.""

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The company behind Discover credit cards will reportedly be joining a larger initiative to track when cardholders make purchases at gun stores.

Multiple payment processors such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have already joined a massive project to separately categorize gun shop sales. The move has been hailed as a victory for gun control advocates who argue that a separate categorization for gun store sales will help monitor suspicious activity that could lead to mass shootings. Gun rights advocates on the other hand, have warned this could bring unwarranted scrutiny on the overwhelming majority of law-abiding gun owners.

"Discover Financial Services (DFS.N), a provider of credit cards, told Reuters it will allow its network to track purchases at gun retailers come April, making it the first among its peers to publicly give a date for moving ahead with the initiative, which is aimed at helping authorities probe gun-related crimes," Reuters reported.

The same article went on to claim, "Discover's announcement came after the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which decides on the classification of merchant categories used by payment cards, approved in September the launch of a dedicated code for gun retailers."

GUN CONTROL LOBBY'S LATEST DEMANDS SHOW THE GOAL IS TO STRIP AMERICANS OF THEIR 2A RIGHTS, NRA SAYS
Discover told Reuters in a statement, "We remain focused on continuing to protect and support lawful purchases on our network while protecting the privacy of cardholders."

One noteworthy nuance of this tracking system is that it monitors the total purchase made in a gun store, rather than distinguishing the specific items bought. So, purchasing supplies such as a gun safe or hunting gear, for example, would count toward that same purchase categorization in the same way a person would if they exclusively bought firearms and ammunition.

TEXAS BREWERY CANCELS ANTI-CENSORSHIP RALLY FEATURING KYLE RITTENHOUSE: 'DOESN'T REFLECT OUR VALUES'
In late 2022, National Rifle Association spokesman Lars Dalseide condemned this transaction monitoring system as part of a dystopian slippery slope, "The [industry's] decision to create a firearm-specific code is nothing more than a capitulation to anti-gun politicians and activists bent on eroding the rights of law-abiding Americans one transaction at a time."

Discover responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment after this story was initially published:

"Discover has no plans to track cardholder purchases of firearms or provide that information to anyone, nor could we. Merchant Category Codes are used to categorize types of stores, and do not enable us to see the product that was purchased. We are not alone in using these codes; they are used consistently by all the major payment networks. We strongly believe in the right of our customers to use their Discover cards for any legal purchase and remain committed to maintaining the privacy of their information."

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Discover Financial to reportedly track gun store purchases starting in April

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The company behind Discover credit cards will reportedly be joining a larger initiative to track when cardholders make purchases at gun stores. Multiple payment processors such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have already joined a massive project to separately categorize gun shop sales.

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This news source is usually left.

Quotes:

"With the exception of Sandy Hook, where the shooter used his mother’s guns, most existing smart guns or prototypes would not have been able to stop recent mass shootings. That’s because most shooters in recent history owned their weapons. Of the 143 guns possessed by mass shooters since 1982, 75% were obtained legally."

"One type of smart gun that takes the issue of mass shooting head-on is called gUNarmed. It uses location tracking to prevent a firearm from being used in public places, like schools and government buildings. While nascent, the still-developing technology is one high-tech solution that could someday help prevent mass shootings."

"However, for gUNarmed to be truly effective, the location tracking technology would need to be accurate and unspoofable, something Green is working on, using a grant from the Smart Tech Challenges Foundation."

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Michael Dalder / Reuters

An Armatix smart gun, which is implanted with an electronic chip that allows it to be fired only if the shooter is wearing a watch that communicates with it through a radio signal.

After every mass shooting in recent history, including the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting on Feb. 14 that left 17 dead, people start talking about "smart guns," and whether these high-tech firearms could be a solution to the United States' gun violence epidemic.

Smart guns, whose embedded technology ensures only authorized users can fire them, have been around for nearly two decades, and a 2016 survey found that nearly 60% of Americans, if they were buying a new handgun, would be interested in a smart firearm. But due largely to political pressure from gun rights proponents and a lack of investment in their development, some of the most promising smart gun technology isn't even for sale in the US, or is still only in prototype form.

There aren't many smart guns to choose from. Major US gun manufacturers seem wary of developing or selling smart guns, and with reason. After Colt and Smith & Wesson, two major US gun manufacturers, agreed in 2000 to create government-sponsored smart guns to prevent accidental shootings and gun deaths, a boycott from gun owners nearly drove them out of business. On March 6, Smith & Wesson told shareholders it hasn't invested in smart gun technology and has no plans to.

Colt and Smith & Wesson did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Meanwhile, the only all-in-one smart gun system on the market is the Armatix iP1 Pistol, a semiautomatic weapon developed by a German company that's designed to fire only when it's within a 10-inch range of a paired RFID watch. It's only available for purchase abroad, and it's pricey at $1,798 ($1,399 for gun and $399 for watch) compared to similar pistols, which typically cost between $250 and $1,000. Researchers have also demonstrated that it's possible to hack the gun.

The iGun is similar to the iP1 in that its radio technology uses a wearable - in iGun's case, a ring - with an ultra-low-frequency chip inside. Within a quarter of a second, the gun sends a signal to the ring, verifies that it's the correct ring, and unlocks the gun, which is then ready to fire. It was first developed nearly 20 years ago, but it's still only in prototype form.

And the $400 Intelligun by Kodiak Industries lets you lock and unlock a gun with your fingerprint, the way you'd open an iPhone. But the add-on device has significant limitations: It has to be installed, and it works only with a Model 1911 pistol.

The opposition Colt and Smith & Wesson encountered isn't unusual. While gun rights advocates aren't against smart guns, per se, many fear government intervention could one day limit gun owners' ability to buy and use traditional guns.

Dudley Brown, the president of the National Association for Gun Rights, told BuzzFeed News in an email, "As long as it's not government-mandated, in any manner, we have no objection to new technology added into firearms. We would strenuously object to any and all efforts to require it, though."

The National Rifle Association did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but on its website, took a similar stance: "The NRA doesn't oppose the development of "'smart' guns, nor the ability of Americans to voluntarily acquire them. However, NRA opposes any law prohibiting Americans from acquiring or possessing firearms that don't possess 'smart' gun technology."

Some gun owners also worry about smart guns' limitations. Timmy Oh, CEO of VARA, a company working on a biometric firearm safe, told BuzzFeed News he strongly supports the creation of smart guns, but said he's not yet ready to buy one himself. "Guns need to work every single time, and I'm not comfortable with putting my life dependency on [smart guns] yet," said Oh.

Further complicating the issue is the question of smart guns' efficacy.

With the exception of Sandy Hook, where the shooter used his mother's guns, most existing smart guns or prototypes would not have been able to stop recent mass shootings. That's because most shooters in recent history owned their weapons. Of the 143 guns possessed by mass shooters since 1982, 75% were obtained legally.

Determining the potential of smart guns to reduce shooting homicides is more complicated. There isn't much public data on what percentage of guns used in firearm-related homicides in the US were legally obtained. Only a small fraction of the weapons involved in gun crimes are recovered, so in most cases, it's difficult to determine how exactly the weapons were acquired.

However, two smaller-scale studies show that most guns used in criminal assaults were illegally obtained. A 2008 city-level study on crime in Pittsburgh revealed that most firearms used in gun crimes were not owned by the perpetrator, and a 2015 survey of inmates in Chicago found that 40% of them obtained their guns on the black market or by theft.

So while current smart gun technology would not have prevented the Parkland shooting, there's evidence it could reduce self-inflicted and accidental gun violence and, potentially, gun-related homicides.

Margot Hirsch, president of the Smart Tech Challenges Foundation, which funds gun safety technology projects, told BuzzFeed News, "Personalized gun safety technologies will not address every facet [of gun violence], but they do offer a promising solution to prevent youth suicides and accidental injuries and deaths, the majority of which occur because a youth has used a family member's gun."

A 2018 study that looked at gun data from 2012 to 2014 found that 5,790 US children, on average, receive medical treatment for gun wounds every year, and about 21% of those cases are unintentional.

And smart guns could improve on existing low-tech gun safety options, including flawed trigger locks, which require a key or combination to unlock. "The problem with these [locks] is that there is a potential for firing while you're unlocking it, and accidental triggers are common," Oh said.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Attendees view the "Wall of Guns" during the 2013 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits on May 4, 2013, in Houston, Texas.

One type of smart gun that takes the issue of mass shooting head-on is called gUNarmed. It uses location tracking to prevent a firearm from being used in public places, like schools and government buildings. While nascent, the still-developing technology is one high-tech solution that could someday help prevent mass shootings.

"The system I'm developing is unique. It focuses not on the person, but places," said Chloe Green, the Northern Virginia-based, 17-year-old roboticist behind gUNarmed. The device can be retrofitted with any gun that uses magazines, like the semiautomatic AR-15 rifle used in Parkland.

Courtesy of Chloe Green

This diagram shows how gUNarmed could work. When the microchip receives satellite data that the gun is in a banned zone, the microchip-powered spring follower is blocked, preventing bullets from moving into the chamber.

The idea of a gun with location-based technology that renders it useless in a banned zone may not sit well with many gun owners who want to be able to use their firearms on-demand. Green isn't deterred: "I want to work with gun owners to give them the choice to make America safer."

However, for gUNarmed to be truly effective, the location tracking technology would need to be accurate and unspoofable, something Green is working on, using a grant from the Smart Tech Challenges Foundation. gUNarmed would also need widespread adoption to successfully prevent mass shootings in schools, which would likely require a government mandate - something gun owners would probably oppose.

As with almost anything that could possibly change the status quo on guns in America, smart guns are highly politicized. A controversial government mandate meant to promote their development is counterintuitively one of the reasons why you can't buy one in the US.

The New Jersey Childproof Handgun Law, passed in 2002, requires that once a smart gun is sold anywhere in the country (even outside of New Jersey), all New Jersey gun shops must, within three years, only carry smart guns.

Because the law restricts what guns people can and can't buy, even if only in New Jersey, guns rights supporters nationwide vehemently oppose it.

The law backfired, making smart guns controversial for gun retailers thinking about selling them. In Maryland in 2014, for example, when Andy Raymond, the owner of the Engage Armament gun shop, said he'd carry the Armatix iP1 smart handgun, he received so many death threats from gun owners that he eventually backed down.

Eugene Volokh, a professor at the UCLA school of law, told BuzzFeed News the 2002 law is a significant factor influencing whether smart guns will be sold in the US. "Instead of either cheering smart guns as a new technology that helps gun owners, [gun proponents] see smart gun technology as a threat. And it's not just a phantom threat, but a real threat. If smart guns are developed, that will lead to the gun restriction that gun rights enthusiasts worry about, at least in New Jersey and maybe elsewhere," he said.

It also gives gun manufacturers a legal disincentive to developing smart guns, Volokh said. "If they do [make smart guns], then they'll get huge opposition from one important part of their market - gun rights enthusiasts - that may overcome the benefit they get."

This year, this law's influence on smart gun availability in the US could change. On Feb. 28, in the wake of the Parkland shooting, the New Jersey state legislature debated seven new gun law bills. Among them is A1016, which, if passed, requires New Jersey gun shops to carry "at least one personalized handgun," rather than only personalized handguns.

In a statement emailed to BuzzFeed News, current governor Phil Murphy's press officer Dan Bryan hinted at support: "Governor Murphy supports efforts to promote smart gun technology and ensure that smart guns are an option for New Jerseyans."

But even though the new amendment is significantly less restrictive than the 2002 bill, it's still a mandate, and seems to already be gathering opposition from gun rights proponents. On whether he'd support the new bill, NAGR's president said, "Absolutely not. By supporting this legislation we would be approving the very concept that the state can tell the private business what products it should offer." The NRA did not respond to a request for comment.

Beyond this controversial law, those developing smart gun technology need additional funding to take their projects to market.

Professor Volokh believes that gun manufacturers, especially new ones that don't have an existing customer base to alienate, have strong incentives to develop or invest in smart gun technology. "Gun manufacturers face a rare problem. ... A modern handgun will work well for many decades, and perhaps for centuries. Gun manufacturers will get no extra business from a typical satisfied customer - again, setting aside collectors and other enthusiasts," Volokh said.

Additionally, according to Volokh, whoever patents this kind of technology "could sell billions of dollars' worth of guns in the span of only a few years, as many millions of gun owners decide to upgrade to the safer versions."

But gun owners' fears of government mandates on smart guns complicates such development - and until they're assuaged, it may be a long time before someone can even buy a smart gun in the US.

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Here's What's Up With "Smart Guns" - And Why You Can't Buy One In The US

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After every mass shooting in recent history, including the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting on Feb. 14 that left 17 dead, people start talking about "smart guns," and whether these high-tech firearms could be a solution to the United States' gun violence epidemic.

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Usually NBC is leaning left, but for this article they center out. NBC just writes informational facts throughout this whole article that gives the reader a more centered experience through the strange world of gun tracing.

Quotes:

"Troppman said that when he joined the center during the mid-1990s, staff would convert paper gun records into microfilm. Nowadays, tracing center employees use high-powered scanners to input the documents onto computers."

"Federal agents can run scans on things such as license plates and fingerprints to instantly find out who they belong to. But when it comes to guns, they’re essentially handcuffed by a 1986 law that keeps the ATF stuck in the past. "

"Since its establishment in 1972, the ATF has been tasked with tracing firearms used in crimes. But in 1986, then-President Ronald Reagan, under pressure from the gun lobby, signed a law that prohibited federal law enforcement from using “any system of registration” of firearms, firearm owners or firearm sales. "

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The nearly 40-year-old regulations prevent the agency from keeping searchable, digitized gun transaction records. And efforts in Congress to modernize the system have failed.

Boxes upon boxes of paper records fill nearly every corridor of the ATF's tracing facility. The space was so cluttered that the agency brought in 40 cargo shipping containers, which sit outside the building, each filled with up to 2,000 boxes.

Today, the situation is more dire than ever. It takes 12 to 14 days for the ATF to perform a routine trace on a gun used in a shooting, robbery or other crime. The record wait time is due to a confluence of factors: shootings are up in cities across the country, ATF staff numbers are down, and more police agencies are seeking assistance in tracking the owners of firearms used in crimes.

"We are continually asked to do more, with less," Neil Troppman, a program manager at the National Tracing Center, said after a tour of the facility earlier this summer.

The recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, have renewed attention on the ATF's archaic system for tracing guns. But the bipartisan gun legislation signed into law in June doesn't include any measures to modernize the nation's only gun tracing facility.

Congress remains divided over expanding the capabilities of the ATF. Senate Democrats sponsored a bill last year that would allow the agency to keep a gun tracing database to aid law enforcement, but it went nowhere.

Republicans have long argued that allowing police access to an electronically searchable repository of gun records is tantamount to a nationwide firearm registry, which would make it easy for the government to seize people's weapons. In April, 18 GOP senators signed a resolution opposing Biden administration regulations that will require gun dealers to retain their entire history of transaction records.

Only two of the 18 responded to an NBC News request for comment.

Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., suggested in a brief interview that he was open to the idea of allowing the ATF to create searchable electronic databases.

"It seems to be something that would seem to make sense," he said while walking to a Senate vote.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a statement that Democrats should focus on prosecuting criminals and "those with serious mental illness," rather than "undermining the rights of law-abiding citizens by creating a national gun registry."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who co-sponsored the Democrats' doomed bill with Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, said that's not what members of their party are seeking.

"All this would do is bring the ATF into the 21st century and allow them to search the data they already have quickly," she said in an interview.

The rise of gun control

The birth of modern day gun control came in the wake of two assassinations that rocked America.

The killings of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy led to the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which required gun dealers to get a federal license to operate and also made them write down the names of people buying their weapons.

Since its establishment in 1972, the ATF has been tasked with tracing firearms used in crimes. But in 1986, then-President Ronald Reagan, under pressure from the gun lobby, signed alaw that prohibited federal law enforcement from using "any system of registration" of firearms, firearm owners or firearm sales.

Troppman said that when he joined the center during the mid-1990s, staff would convert paper gun records into microfilm. Nowadays, tracing center employees use high-powered scanners to input the documents onto computers.

But they must walk a fine line when using 21st century technology in order to avoid running afoul of federal restrictions.

If the gun shop records are in an Excel file or another electronic format, the data extraction specialists are called in to make screenshots. Despite having access to more than 900 million scanned records, the ATF can't look up gun owners or shops by name. When a trace comes in, investigators have to scroll through hundreds of pages of screenshots to find the gun information.

The trace requests now pour in at an unprecedented rate, thanks to an online portal called eTrace. The system allows local law enforcement agencies to file trace requests with just a few keystrokes, while the ATF investigators must scroll through hundreds of pages of screenshots to find the information needed to solve crimes.

"It is stupid. It is outrageous. And I blame Congress," Leahy said in an interview, referring to the two-week wait time on routine gun traces.

While most take up to 14 days to complete, expedited searches are usually done for homicides and mass shootings, including on the AR-15-style weapon that was used to kill seven people at a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, 83% of "urgent requests" are completed within 48 hours.

The ATF is flooded with a record number of trace requests at a time when it's facing a serious staffing shortage. The agency had about 80 federal employees assigned to the tracing center in the 1990s. It now has roughly 55.

In order to keep the nation's gun trace effort afloat, the ATF relies on hundreds of contract workers, assigning them to organize and scan the millions of gun records that flood the facility each year.

If the agency stopped receiving records today, Troppman said, it would take about 14 months to clear the backlog. The work ahead is on full display at the ATF's West Virginia facility, which looks like a time capsule from the era that birthed MTV.

Inside the National Tracing Center

On a recent Thursday, a gray-haired woman sat hunched over a pile of gun purchasing forms from 2013, thumbing for clues. Across from her, a young man clawed through box after box fishing for the one document that might reveal who owns the weapon found at a recent crime scene.

"Despite what people think, it's still a manual process, regardless of what technology is out there," Troppman said.

The ATF often has little trouble tracking the first few legs of a firearm's journey from factory to wholesaler. More than 30 gun manufacturers, distributors and importers came up with a workaround to speed up gun traces since, unlike the ATF, they can keep electronic databases.

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'It's just insanity': ATF now needs 2 weeks to perform a routine gun trace

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The nearly 40-year-old regulations prevent the agency from keeping searchable, digitized gun transaction records. And efforts in Congress to modernize the system have failed. Boxes upon boxes of paper records fill nearly every corridor of the ATF's tracing facility.

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Quotes:

"OpenSecrets' figures suggest that since 2010, the NRA has directed more than $140m to pro-gun election candidates."

"It grades members of Congress from A to F on their perceived friendliness to gun rights. Those ratings can cost pro-gun control candidates their seats."

"The NRA responded by calling for more security in schools, rather than restrictions on gun ownership."

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US gun control: What is the NRA and why is it so powerful?

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The National Rifle Association plays a central role in the contentious issue of US gun control.

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Usually The Hill is centered, but they lean right when it comes to this topic. They think tracking firearms aren't the way to go. They believe America shouldn't change how they sell guns and ammo.

Quotes:

"Florida officials have proposed a ban on the state tracking firearm and ammunition purchases, arguing that tracking them violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "

"A release noted that the International Organization for Standardization, an international nongovernmental organization that sets voluntary standards for “global challenges,” recently created a new merchant coding system to help identify firearm and ammunition retailers and track sales."

"The release states that the organization’s move would create a “quasi-registry” of Floridians who have legally purchased a gun or ammunition. However, the codes, which exist for many types of businesses, categorize businesses instead of tracking consumers."

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Florida officials have proposed a ban on the state tracking firearm and ammunition purchases, arguing that tracking them violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

State Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R), state Sen. Danny Burgess (R) and state Rep. John Snyder (R) announced the proposed legislation on Tuesday. They said the legislation, which Simpson called the "Florida Arms and Ammo Act," will prohibit the state's financial institutions from collecting data on firearm and ammunition purchases.

"We are all blessed to live in the free state of Florida where our Second Amendment rights are valued and protected, but Democrats in Washington continue to try to chip away at these rights - and we must stay vigilant," Simpson said in a news release.

Trump calls ex-chief of staff Mick Mulvaney 'a born loser' Musk says he'll launch AI platform to challenge Microsoft, Google

A release noted that the International Organization for Standardization, an international nongovernmental organization that set s voluntary standards for "global challenges," recently created a new merchant coding system to help identify firearm and ammunition retailers and track sales.

The release states that the organization's move would create a "quasi-registry" of Floridians who have legally purchased a gun or ammunition. However, the codes, which exist for many types of businesses, categorize businesses instead of tracking consumers.

"This is the United States of America. You don't get penalized for exercising a Constitutional right. The Second Amendment is nonnegotiable, and here in Florida, we are going to fight to protect the rights of Floridians," Burgess said.

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Florida officials propose ban on tracking firearm, ammunition purchases

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Florida officials have proposed a ban on the state tracking firearm and ammunition purchases, arguing that tracking them violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. State Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R), state Sen. Danny Burgess (R) and state Rep. John Snyder (R) announced the proposed legislation on Tuesday.

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This news source usually leans left, but it is centered for this article. This article doesn't side with anyone, but just talks about an idea to stop mass shootings and gun traffickers.

Quotes:

"US credit card giants said they will implement a new merchant category code for the nation’s gun retailers, which gun control activists say will help flag potential mass shooters and gun traffickers."

"A statement Saturday from Mastercard noted that recent bipartisan action in Congress is a positive step in “meaningfully” addressing gun violence. Now that the ISO approved the new merchant category code, Mastercard said it is turning its focus to how the system will be implemented by merchants and their banks."

"“This is not about tracking or prevention or any virtuous motivation — it’s about creating a national registry of gun owners,” the NRA said Sunday."

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Credit card companies will adopt new sales code for gun transactions | CNN Business

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US credit card giants said they will implement a new merchant category code for the nation's gun retailers, which gun control activists say will help flag potential mass shooters and gun traffickers.

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This news source is usually leaning left.

Quotes:

"There are also bills pending in several state legislatures that would ban the tracking of purchases at gun shops, which would have made it even more difficult for Visa and Mastercard to implement the categorization."

"The decision is, at the same time, also a defeat for gun control groups. There had been hope that categorizing credit and debit card purchases would allow authorities to potentially see red flags — like significant ammunition purchases — before a mass shooting could happen."

"Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt that tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases."

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NEW YORK -- Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt that tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases.

The decision is, at the same time, also a defeat for gun control groups. There had been hope that categorizing credit and debit card purchases would allow authorities to potentially see red flags - like significant ammunition purchases - before a mass shooting could happen.

After Visa and Mastercard announced their plans to implement a separate merchant category code for gun shop purchases, the payment networks got significant pushback from the gun lobby as well as conservative politicians. A group of 24 GOP state attorneys general wrote a letter to the payment networks threatening legal action against Visa and Mastercard if they moved forward with their plan.

There are also bills pending in several state legislatures that would ban the tracking of purchases at gun shops, which would have made it even more difficult for Visa and Mastercard to implement the categorization.

In a statement, Visa indicated that the legal pushback was partially the reason they have paused their implementation.

"There is now significant confusion and legal uncertainty in the payments ecosystem, and the state actions disrupt the intent of global standards," the company said.

Visa and Mastercard have said that the reason for the gun shop category was a decision outside of their control. The International Organization for Standardization, better known as ISO, is the group that categorizes merchant codes and Visa and Mastercard were just following their decision. Gun control advocates lobbied for the change to ISO, not to Visa and Mastercard.

Further, Visa and Mastercard's plan would not have tracked individual gun purchases. It would have instead broken out purchases at gun stores as a separate category. But not all large purchases at a gun shop would have been considered a red flag.

For example a purchase of a gun safe, which costs several thousands of dollars, would have been seen as a large purchase at a gun shop even though the safe is considered a responsible tool of gun ownership and unrelated to potential mass shootings.

"Visa and Mastercard came to the correct conclusion. However, they shouldn't just 'pause' their implementation of this plan-they should end it definitively," said Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who led the 24 state GOP group to pressure Visa and Mastercard to drop the standard, in a statement.

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Visa, Mastercard pause decision to track gun shop purchases

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NEW YORK -- Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt that tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases. The decision is, at the same time, also a defeat for gun control groups.

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This article leans left even though Forbes is usually pretty centered. This article talks more about the left side and sides with them on gun control ideas.

Quotes:
"The share of voters who support stricter gun control laws has reached a new high, with more than two-thirds of Americans backing them,"

"The most recent polling, conducted June 10-12, found 68% of voters back stricter gun laws, up from 64% from June 4-5, 65% right after the Uvalde shooting on May 25, and 60% after the Buffalo shooting on May 16."

"A bipartisan group of senators unveiled an agreement Monday that would somewhat strengthen gun measures, including by giving states funding to pass “red flag laws” that take firearms away from people deemed to be higher risk, strengthening background checks for people between the ages of 18 and 21,"

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Support For Gun Control Laws Hits Record High, Poll Finds

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Senators have reached a bipartisan agreement on gun control, though it doesn’t include highly popular measures like expanding background checks or raising the age for firearm purchases.