Buying guns with crypto is a constitutional right, lobbyists claim
A gun lobby association has called on people to protest a proposal to exclude crypto from the definition of “money”, which they claim effectively criminalises the purchase of guns with digital currency.
Just last week, the state of South Dakota proposed legislation that would change the definition of money within the Uniform Commercial Code.
It says that “money” shall exclude “an electronic record which is a medium of exchange recorded and transferable in a system which existed and operated for the medium of exchange before the medium of exchange was authorized or adopted by the authorities.”
This would basically excludes crypto from being considered “money”.
In response, the non-profit gun rights organization Gun Owners of America (GOA) has called on firearms owners to protest what it sees as a threat to the nation’s Second Amendment. This states that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
“While it may not seem like a Second Amendment issue at first glance, it is affects our freedom to pay for firearms in the way we choose. This bill would effectively prohibit people from using cryptocurrency to purchase firearms,” the group’s website states.
Readers were asked to call Governor Kristi Noem’s office, or send a prepared message:
“Law-abiding citizens should be allowed to use whatever payment they want to exercise their rights. Please VETO House Bill 1193,” with the subject line, “HB 1193 is anti-gun.”
Currently, GOA does not accept crypto as a means of donating to the association.
Read more: DoJ moves Silk Road bitcoin to new wallets and exchanges
Why exclude crypto?
According to officials at the Uniform Law Commission, the change aims to clear up confusion caused by El Salvador’s recognition of bitcoin and the legal implications this had for crypto borrowers.
In a e-mail posted on Twitter, the commission said: “Med [El Salavdor’s] announcement, the definition of money under the UCC arguably included bitcoin. This meant that instead of the new rules for controllable electronic records (including cryptocurrencies) in Article 12, a court could apply the UCC’s old rules to transactions involving money.
“Under these rules, a lender in physical possession of money (which is impossible for cryptocurrency) has a perfected security interest in the money, but a lender filing a UCC-1 financing statement will not be perfected, meaning that another party may have a superior claim to the cryptocurrency used as collateral.”
It has also been reported while crypto is apparently excluded from the definition, central bank digital currencies would still qualify.
Protos has contacted the GOA and will update this story if we hear back.
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