Whether one likes them or not, one of the admirable things about leftists is that they are relentless. Like water pushing through rocks to create the Grand Canyon, once they have a goal, if they cannot obtain it one way, they will pursue it another way. The latest example is that the International Organization for Standardization just voted to create a special merchant code for gun sellers. The way it works is that banks, rather than the merchants, will assign the code to merchants who sell guns. Once in place, this system will effectively create a registration database.

The International Organization for Standardization (which calls itself the “ISO”) is an NGO that creates standards covering “almost all aspects of technology and manufacturing.” You must accept that these are good standards because they’re “agreed by experts.” The ISO is, of course, committed to sustainability.

Most recently, according to Reuters, the ISO created a merchant code specifically identifying gun retailers. This act of creation was not random. The ISO did so “following pressure from activists who say it will help track suspicious weapons purchases.” The article does not define what constitutes a “suspicious weapons purchase.”

Image: Guns by Sean Savage. CC BY-SA 2.0.

However, it might help you define it to know that Elizabeth Warren and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have been among the activists pushing for this change. Chief among the banks pushing for the change was Amalgamated Bank of New York, which is explicitly progressive:

We’re the bank for people who care what their money does in the world. When you deposit your money at Amalgamated, it supports sustainable organizations, progressive causes, and social justice. We are committed to environmental and social responsibility. We’re net-zero and powered by 100% renewable energy, and we have a long, proud history of providing affordable access to the banking system, supporting immigrants and affordable housing, and being a champion of workers’ rights.

There’s more on the linked page, and it’s quite amazing. Union workers founded the page 99 years ago, and it exists to advance Democrat policies. Indeed, it has the Democrat logo on the bottom of its “Who we are” page.

It’s apparent that the bank’s goal in pushing for the gun category code is to create a gun registry to advance the left’s relentless gun control agenda. Indeed, Amalgamated’s activism extends beyond merchant codes. It also aggressively advocates for universal background checks, red flag laws, and enforcing “Everytown for Gun Safety’s” anti-Second Amendment agenda. Bravely, it even takes a stand against nuclear weapons.

The bank’s activism matters because the actual gun sellers won’t have a say in this coding. Instead,

It clears the way for banks that process gun retailers’ payments to decide whether to assign the new code to merchants. The code would help monitors track where an individual spends money, but would not show what specific items were purchased.

Going forward, you must understand that, if banks embrace this standard (and they will), should you pay with a debit or credit card, the financial institution will know that you spent money at a gun store. The bank may not have the details, but it can extrapolate from large dollar purchases that you’ve been stocking up on guns and ammo. And if you think that banks won’t share that information with state or federal authorities when asked, you’re probably being naïve.

In the future, or at last for as long as possible before cash is outlawed, you may want to think about cash-only purchases the next time you’re at your local gun store. Otherwise, you may unwittingly find yourself on a backdoor gun registry, something the government cannot do affirmatively, but that the ISO and activist banks (and they’re all activists nowadays) will help the government do passively.