By Craig Anderson

WILMINGTON - Attorney General Kathy Jennings on Monday announced that Delaware, along with New Jersey and the District of Columbia, is leading a coalition of attorneys general from across the nation in support of the world’s largest credit card companies’ adoption of a new merchant category code for the sale of firearms and ammunition, a news release said.

According to Ms. Jennings, the new code will help law enforcement efforts to combat the scourge of gun violence.

Earlier this month, the Switzerland-based International Organization for Standardization approved the creation of a new merchant code that will allow financial institutions to better detect and report suspicious activity related to the purchase of firearms and ammunition at standalone gun retail stores.

The code will have no bearing on an individual’s ability to lawfully purchase firearms, and is narrowly tailored so that it applies only to purchases made at independently-owned gun retail shops.

The decision by the credit card companies is viewed by gun-safety advocates as an important action that will help law enforcement investigate gun crimes, prevent mass shootings, and combat illegal weapons trafficking.

In a letter addressed to the chief executives of Visa, American Express and Mastercard, Ms. Jennings and 10 other attorneys general welcome the companies’ decision to adopt the new merchant code as an important new public safety tool.

“Gun violence is a uniquely American epidemic, and it is incumbent on all of us — policy leaders, parents, communities, law enforcement, and the business community — to be a part of the solution,” said Ms. Jennings.

“This step by the world’s largest credit card companies equips law enforcement with a valuable tool to track illegal gun purchases — including the gun trafficking that drives gun violence in communities across this country.”

The letter anticipates that use of the new merchant code will yield vital information to fill crucial data “gaps” related to multiple purchases of firearms and ammunition. Critically, the letter points out, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has identified failure by retailers to report the sale of two or more firearms to the same person at one time as a common violation found by inspectors.

In addition, the letter notes, the code will enable financial institutions to track multiple sales to persons who seek to avoid the threshold for reporting gun purchases by making firearms purchases at several different retail outlets.

Another key advantage of the new merchant code, the letter observes, is that it will enable financial institutions and law enforcement to analyze transaction patterns associated with mass shootings by persons who have rapidly acquired weapons and large caches of ammunition.

The new code will also be a valuable adjunct to “red flag” laws that many states have enacted to curb domestic terrorism, the letter states.

While the bulk of today’s letter is devoted to applauding the new merchant code and commending the credit card industry’s readiness to “step up and do its part,” the letter also makes a point of dismissing as “fear mongering” arguments advanced by the gun industry and its supporters that the new code is an incursion on Second Amendment rights.