OWEGO (WBNG) -- A proposed bill in New York State is causing concerns in gun stores throughout the Southern Tier. The bill, if passed, would require payment card networks to use certain merchant category codes for firearm dealers.

“Lock and load” worker Alan Dutton said this potential legislation would be a punishment for legal gun owners.

“This is obviously a blatant way to track legal gun ownership,” Dutton said. “It’s almost getting ridiculous and they’re shameless about it.”

The bill states this legislation could serve as a precautionary measure by tracking down unusual spending patterns. It says it could prevent a potential shooting by having credit card companies flag certain purchases for law enforcement. Local gun owner Jeremy Shoemaker doesn’t believe this would be an effective method.

“It’s in our amendments that we have the right to own or have any guns that we want,” Shoemaker said. “It’s the guys going to the stores and buying them with a credit card that are the legal owners. They’re trying to do the right thing with them, go out and do the hobbies all that stuff.”

Dutton said business increases as potential legislation looms.

“This place gets busier and busier,” Dutton said. “People are flocking to the pistol permit classes, they want their permits, people are flocking to the guns shelves, I can’t even keep guns on the shelves.”

This legislation went into effect in California on Monsaid and New York could be doing the same soon.