Catch Title: Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act Amendments

Category: Social Issues

Sponsor: Representative(s) Haroldson, Knapp, McCann, Schmid, Smith and Styvar and Senator(s) Boner, French, Love and Steinmetz

Effective Date: Immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for the bill to become law

Bill URL: https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2026/HB0097

Overview HB0097 significantly expands the existing “Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act” by establishing criminal penalties for unauthorized record-keeping and transitioning the Attorney General’s enforcement duties from discretionary to mandatory. The bill prohibits merchant servicers from assigning or requiring firearms-specific merchant category codes for Wyoming merchants and forbids discriminatory financial practices against firearms retailers. Additionally, it provides a private right of action for citizens and merchants to seek injunctive relief and attorney fees if the state does not act on reported violations.

Key Provisions

• Criminalization of Firearm Registries: Establishes a criminal misdemeanor (punishable by up to 1 year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine) for knowingly maintaining a list or registry of privately owned firearms or their owners through the use of a firearms merchant code .
• Expanded Definitions: Broadens the scope of protected items to include specific definitions for “Ammunition,” “Firearm accessory or component,” and “Merchant” (explicitly including firearms retailers) .
• Mandatory AG Action: Changes the Attorney General’s investigative and enforcement role from “may” to “shall,” requiring mandatory investigations of alleged violations and mandatory pursuit of injunctions if a violation is found .
• Prohibition on Discriminatory Practices: Forbids merchant servicers from declining transactions, limiting business relationships, or charging higher fees based solely on the assignment or non-assignment of a firearms code .
• Private Right of Action: Grants standing to merchants and customers to file a court action for injunctive relief and recover reasonable attorney fees if the Attorney General does not commence an action within 60 days of being petitioned .
• Civil Penalties: Authorizes the court to assess a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation if a person or entity knowingly and willfully fails to comply with a court injunction .

Implications

• Unfunded Mandatory Workload: [Not Specified] The bill mandates that the Attorney General “shall” investigate all petitions of alleged violations, yet it provides no fiscal note or additional staffing to manage this non-discretionary investigative burden .
• Ambiguity in Anti-Discrimination: [Ambiguous] The bill prohibits adverse actions based “solely” on the assignment of a firearms code. This may create a loophole for financial institutions to implement broader “social credit” or “de-banking” policies that restrict firearms commerce under different justifications .
• High Litigation Risk: By establishing a private right of action with a mandatory award of attorney fees for prevailing plaintiffs, the bill creates a significant incentive for high-volume litigation against merchant servicers and financial processors .
• FFL Record Keeping Protection: While the bill prohibits private registries, it maintains a necessary exemption for records kept by Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) in the ordinary course of business as required by federal law (18 U.S.C. 922) .
• Ideological Basis: This legislation is identified as a social issue bill driven by ideological concerns regarding the potential infringement of Second Amendment rights, despite a lack of empirical evidence of such infringements occurring through merchant codes in Wyoming.