MANCHESTER, NH September 22, 2022–Following the announcement that NH Attorney General John Formella has joined with two dozen state attorneys general across the country in a lawsuit to block credit card companies from tracking legal purchases of guns and ammunition, District 20 Republican state senate candidate Rich Girard issued the following statement:
“Make no mistake. This move to track legal purchases of guns and ammunition is just another attempt by the radical left to use international bodies and private companies to deprive us of our rights when their agenda fails in Congress and the State House. Requiring every store to use a special code when firearms or ammunition are purchased is creating a traceable record of private and legal activity that supporters admit is more dangerous to our Second Amendment rights than a gun registry.
“As state senator, I will support legislation that prevents any financial institution from collecting any such data. I agree with what Visa said when it originally objected to this international imposition: ‘…asking payment networks to serve as a moral authority by deciding which legal goods can or cannot be purchased sets a dangerous precedent.’
“This is little more than a cynical ruse designed to exploit recent tragedies. If preventing future tragedies is the goal, then the focus should be on the aggressive enforcement of current gun laws and the unapologetic prosecution of those who violate them.”
Girard pointed to the recent arrest of a man who was out on bail for felony reckless conduct and felon in possession of a deadly weapon when he shot a pregnant Manchester woman in June saying correcting such failures of the criminal justice system is where his focus will be to protect the public against violent perpetrators.
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