Do credit card sales need to be tracked?

Guns for sale are displayed at Maxon Shooter’s Supplies in Des Plaines, Illinois, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. A new national divide is emerging between states over whether to track sales by gun stores. A California law that goes into effect Monday requires credit card networks to provide banks with special store codes to assign to gun stores. In contrast, new laws going into effect in Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee and Wyoming prohibit the use of special gun store codes in financial transactions. In all, 17 states have enacted some kind of limit on category codes for gun stores, with California joining Colorado and New York. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

(NewsNation) — Major credit card companies in California must now provide banks with special sales codes that can be assigned to gun stores so their sales can be tracked.

At the same time, Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee and Wyoming prohibit the use of specific gun store codes.

The conflicting mandates underscore what has quietly developed into one of the country’s newest gun policy debates, with state capitals divided along familiar party lines.

Some Democratic lawmakers and gun control activists hope the new retail transaction tracking code will help financial institutions flag suspicious gun purchases to law enforcement, helping prevent mass shootings and other crimes.

Democratic-led legislatures in Colorado and New York have also passed measures mandating gun laws that will take effect next year.

“The merchant category code is the first step in the banking system saying, ‘Enough! We’re putting our foot down,'” said Hudson Munoz, executive director of the nonprofit Guns Down America. “You cannot use our system to facilitate gun violence.”

Many Republican lawmakers and gun rights advocates fear the store code could cast undue suspicion on gun buyers who have done nothing wrong. In the past 16 months, 17 states with GOP-led legislatures have passed measures banning or restricting the use of a gun store code.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.