Analysis · Speech on a bill · beta

Riley M. Moore

Republican on Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act 2026-07-14

520 words · 32 sentences · 37 clauses

Statement grade

75 / 100, held down by Signal

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Greeting 3%Positioning 32%Claims 38%Reasoning 8%Procedure 1%Anecdote 10%Thanks 7%The ask 1%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. Speaker, Greeting · 15 wordsI rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act.¹Greeting Positioning · 30 wordsMy bill preserves two fundamental rights: the right to privacy and the right to bear arms. Americans should not be forced to disclose to payment processors when they buy firearms.Positioning Claims · 17 wordsThe bill preserves Americans’ rights by prohibiting the creation of a separate merchant category code for firearms.² Reasoning · 10 wordsThis would, of course, become a de facto gun registry.Unearned certainty Claims · 30 wordsThe bill also preempts harmful State laws and gives the Attorney General authority to take any bank or payment processor that assigns or requires a separate code to Federal court.³ Positioning · 15 wordsFor too long, the American people have had their rights undermined by the radical left.PositioningOff point Procedure · 5 wordsThe bill’s premise is simple: ProcedurePositioning · 4 wordsno gun registries, period.Positioning Claims · 26 wordsIn fact, this very body has twice prohibited these unjust registries, once in 1986 and again in 1993, to prohibit the left from destroying Americans’ rights.⁴ Positioning · 7 wordsHowever, the gun-grabbing left never stops trying.Positioning Claims · 44 wordsIn 2021, the progressive Amalgamated Bank lobbied the International Organization for Standardization to create a separate merchant category code for firearm retailers to advance a backdoor gun registry.⁵ Previously, these retailers had always been accurately categorized as miscellaneous retail stores or sporting goods stores.⁶ Positioning · 8 wordsAmalgamated Bank was hell-bent on tracking firearm purchases.Positioning Claims · 26 wordsIt pressured a faceless, unaccountable, foreign standards body in Geneva to stand up a new merchant category code explicitly targeting American gun owners and American businesses. Anecdote · 54 wordsWhen I was State treasurer in West Virginia, we said ``no’’ to the gun-grabbing progressive bank partnering with a European NGO destroying American rights. Under my leadership as State treasurer, West Virginia enacted one of the first bans on separate merchant category codes for firearms retailers, protecting the privacy of our State’s gun owners.⁷AnecdoteOff point Claims · 6 wordsNineteen States after that followed suit.⁸ Reasoning · 9 wordsHowever, a patchwork of State regulations is not enough. Claims · 31 wordsCalifornia, Colorado, and New York currently mandate that firearm stores have a separate merchant category code, creating a de facto registry in some of the most populous States in our country.⁹Logical leap Positioning · 6 wordsThis cannot be allowed to stand.Positioning Claims · 17 wordsWe have already seen the Biden administration pressure financial institutions to hand over data on their customers.¹⁰Unearned certainty Reasoning · 22 wordsA private database of gun owners falling into the hands of a future anti-gun administration is a threat that we cannot accept. Positioning · 16 wordsOur God-given right to own a firearm does not stop at the border of blue States.Positioning Mr. Speaker, Thanks · 37 wordsI thank my colleagues, Representatives Barr and Hudson, for their work on this bill. I also thank Chairman Hill for getting it across the finish line. I also thank Representative Stefanik for her leadership on this issue.Thanks Positioning · 78 wordsThese are our God-given rights, spelled out in our Constitution, and we proudly exercise them. We will not allow an elitist bank partnered with a foreign, faceless bureaucracy to rob Americans of their right to protect themselves.Vague promise In West Virginia, we don’t ask permission to protect ourselves and our families, and no American should ever have to wonder whether buying a firearm will land them on a government watch list. Privacy and gun ownership go hand in hand.Positioning Mr. Speaker, The ask · 7 wordsI urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.’’

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 45

23 of 30 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Greetings and pleasantries.What the tags mean “I rise in support of my bill, H.R.”A greeting: no claim, reason or ask.
Greetings and pleasantries.What the tags mean “1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act.”A greeting: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “My bill preserves two fundamental rights:”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “the right to privacy and the right to bear arms.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Americans should not be forced to disclose to payment processors when they buy firearms.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “For too long, the American people have had their rights undermined by the radical left.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “The bill’s premise is simple:”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “no gun registries, period.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “However, the gun-grabbing left never stops trying.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Amalgamated Bank was hell-bent on tracking firearm purchases.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “When I was State treasurer in West Virginia, we said ``no’’ to the gun-grabbing progressive bank partnering with a European NGO destroying American rights.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “Under my leadership as State treasurer, West Virginia enacted one of the first bans on separate merchant category codes for firearms retailers, protecting the privacy of our State’s gun owners.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “This cannot be allowed to stand.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Our God-given right to own a firearm does not stop at the border of blue States.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Thanks and tributes.What the tags mean “I thank my colleagues, Representatives Barr and Hudson, for their work on this bill.”Thanks: no claim, reason or ask.
Thanks and tributes.What the tags mean “I also thank Chairman Hill for getting it across the finish line.”Thanks: no claim, reason or ask.
Thanks and tributes.What the tags mean “I also thank Representative Stefanik for her leadership on this issue.”Thanks: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “These are our God-given rights, spelled out in our Constitution,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “and we proudly exercise them.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “We will not allow an elitist bank partnered with a foreign, faceless bureaucracy to rob Americans of their right to protect themselves.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “In West Virginia, we don’t ask permission to protect ourselves and our families,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “and no American should ever have to wonder whether buying a firearm will land them on a government watch list.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Privacy and gun ownership go hand in hand.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · 96

3 of 30 deductions are Relevance

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue. Measured against the bill under debate.

Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “For too long, the American people have had their rights undermined by the radical left.”A general partisan accusation that does not address the bill’s provisions or purpose.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “When I was State treasurer in West Virginia, we said ``no’’ to the gun-grabbing progressive bank partnering with a European NGO destroying American rights.”Recounts the speaker’s own record in West Virginia rather than the bill under debate.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “Under my leadership as State treasurer, West Virginia enacted one of the first bans on separate merchant category codes for firearms retailers, protecting the privacy of our State’s gun owners.”Describes the speaker’s past state-level achievement, not the federal bill before the House.

Reasoning · 77

1 of 30 deductions are Reasoning

Reasoning checks for sound logic and solid support for any conclusion. A low score means the speaker made unsupported leaps or used weak arguments.

A conclusion that does not follow from the reasons given for it.What the tags mean “and New York currently mandate that firearm stores have a separate merchant category code, creating a de facto registry in some of the most populous States in our country.”The claim that a merchant category code amounts to a registry treats a retailer categorization as equivalent to a list of gun owners.

Conclusions found · 2

Conclusion“This cannot be allowed to stand.”

Because“However, a patchwork of State regulations is not enough.”

“and New York currently mandate that firearm stores have a separate merchant category code, creating a de facto registry in some of the most populous States in our country.”

Reason flawedThe claim that a merchant category code amounts to a registry treats a retailer categorization as equivalent to a list of gun owners.
Conclusion“I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.’’”

Because“Americans should not be forced to disclose to payment processors when they buy firearms.”

“The bill preserves Americans’ rights by prohibiting the creation of a separate merchant category code for firearms.”

“A private database of gun owners falling into the hands of a future anti-gun administration is a threat that we cannot accept.”

Reason given

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 87

3 of 30 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “This would, of course”The certainty that a merchant code would become a registry is asserted as obvious rather than sourced.
Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “We have already seen”The claimed pressure on financial institutions is offered as witnessed fact without any source or citation.
A promise with no date, no measure and no one responsible.What the tags mean “We will not allow”A pledge with no actor, mechanism, measure, or condition for how the right would be protected.

Claims · 10

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act.”The bill under debate is H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act.search
2“prohibiting the creation of a separate merchant category code for firearms”The bill prohibits payment card networks from creating a separate merchant category code for firearms retailers.search
3“preempts harmful State laws and gives the Attorney General authority to take any bank or payment processor that assigns or requires a separate code to Federal court”The bill preempts State laws and gives the Attorney General authority to sue banks or payment processors that assign or require a separate firearms merchant code in Federal court.search
4“this very body has twice prohibited these unjust registries, once in 1986 and again in 1993”Congress twice enacted prohibitions on gun registries, once in 1986 and again in 1993.search
5“In 2021, the progressive Amalgamated Bank lobbied the International Organization for Standardization to create a separate merchant category code for firearm retailers”In 2021, Amalgamated Bank lobbied the International Organization for Standardization to create a separate merchant category code for firearm retailers.search
6“these retailers had always been accurately categorized as miscellaneous retail stores or sporting goods stores”Before the change, firearms retailers were categorized under merchant codes for miscellaneous retail stores or sporting goods stores.search
7“West Virginia enacted one of the first bans on separate merchant category codes for firearms retailers”West Virginia enacted one of the first State bans on separate merchant category codes for firearms retailers while Riley Moore was State treasurer.search
8“Nineteen States after that followed suit”Nineteen States enacted similar bans on separate merchant category codes for firearms retailers after West Virginia.search
9“and New York currently mandate that firearm stores have a separate merchant category code, creating a de facto registry in some of the most populous States in our country.”California, Colorado, and New York currently mandate that firearm stores have a separate merchant category code.search
10“the Biden administration pressure financial institutions to hand over data on their customers”The Biden administration pressured financial institutions to hand over data on their customers.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15