The Arizona Legislature has passed SB 1058, also known as the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, protecting gun owners from financial surveillance and government overreach.
SB 1058 prevents any government entity from keeping or creating a registry of privately owned firearms or firearm owners. This reinforces Arizona’s long-standing commitment to protecting Second Amendment rights and ensuring that lawful gun ownership does not become the basis for tracking or targeting citizens.
The bill also prohibits payment card networks and financial institutions from using specialized merchant category codes to identify firearm retailers or flag transactions involving firearms or ammunition. These codes, recently pushed by international standards organizations, raised serious concerns among gun owners that financial institutions could create de facto gun registries by tracking purchases.
Under SB 1058, the Attorney General or a county attorney has exclusive authority to enforce the law. Violators must cease unlawful conduct within 30 business days of notice, and courts are required to issue injunctions and may impose civil penalties for continued violations.
Arizona’s Constitution protects the right to bear arms. SB 1058 ensures that right cannot be undermined through backdoor financial tracking schemes. By passing this legislation, lawmakers have taken a firm stand to protect privacy, defend lawful gun ownership, and stop financial institutions from becoming tools of political activism.