Opinion
USA -(AmmoLand.com)- Second Amendment supporters already see court rulings strike down laws that violate the Second Amendment across the country – it’s a good start. But they also swing good reasons to make addressing financial deplatforming a priority.
With JP Morgan Chase deciding to close Kanye West’s business accounts and Bank of America going after conservative social media commentator Catturd, the alarm is buzzing again – and Second Amendment supporters cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button with regards to financial deplatforming.
The stakes aren’t just whether or not buying guns becomes a case of using cash. It also has the potential to cripple our ability to exercise the First Amendment to protect the Second Amendment. This is right out of a playbook long run by anti-Second Amendment extremists.
They tried and failed with McCain-Feingold, especially in the wake of Citizens United. They’ve been unable to pass other legislation that would expose donors. Letitia James and Andrew Cuomo’s jihad against the NRA ran into a First Amendment brick wall regarding their desire to dissolve the group.
However, the CEOs and top executives of big financial services corporations – be it banks, credit cards, or insurance companies – can act independently (or after prodding from anti-Second Amendment extremists in office), and there are not many Second Amendment supporters can do. Sure, some smaller banks might be safe havens for the short-to-medium term, but the only long-term security is the passage of strong legislation to address financial deplatforming in as many Second Amendment-friendly states as possible.
Think it won’t happen? There are two likely scenarios for a massive surge of financial deplatforming of the Second Amendment community – the first would be a SCOTUS ruling explicitly striking down bans on modern multi-purpose semi-automatic long guns. In that case, anti-Second Amendment extremists would likely push for corporate gun control due to a lack of other options.
The second scenario would be repeated school shootings like those in Uvalde or Sandy Hook. This time, we could see financial services companies cite “reputational risk,” with or without pressure from government officials (again, see Andrew Cuomo and Letitia James) or lawmakers.
The financial deplatforming can be halted firmly with strong legislation in the form of state-level versions of the Freedom Financing Act as a bare minimum. The fact of the matter is that Second Amendment supporters have to defeat the ability of banks to financially deplatform them in order to defeat anti-Second Amendment extremists via the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
Since these banks are federally insured and have previously been bailed out using taxpayer money it seems that a case could be made that they are so closely connected with the Federal government that they potentially be sued as being a government actor.
Yes, it is suspicious. There must be an email or whistle blower somewhere. That and a new administration, and were are off and investigating.
And is this deplatforming in the best interests of the shareholders? So why are they doing it.
Don’t do business with these banks. Use your local credit union.
even the credit unions use the major card processors for their ctedit/debit cards. And THESE are the clowns trying to play big thug on the block. I remember back whan Cabelas broke off their long-termrelationship with the bank and card processing company they’d been using, and formed their own new bank and card processing company. Not sure whether that still exists after the BassPro buyout. I really had to respect them for proactively assuring NO discrimination could be done against any of their customers using their own house branded credit cards. If an outfit as small as Cabelas could do… Read more »
The Cabela’s Card is now a Capitol One card since the merger with Bass Pro. I was sorry to see that. Capitol One gets a big down vote because of their black racist shill.
Meet the new Jim Crow. The new vilified class is the gun owner, gun dealer and the firearms industry. We attack this from a civil rights perspective. The Progressive New Left has been telling us for fifty years they would shut us down by any means necessary and on every front. They are true to their word. WE need to fight back on all fronts. The antigun movement is now becoming part of the larger ESG movement and must be crushed by any means necessary.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing refers to a set of standards for a company’s behavior used by socially conscious investors to screen potential investments. (Wikipedia, but that’s a fairly accurate answer, I think.
dump the Goog. Start riding the duck. There are others who do not decide for you, too.
It sounds like their is room for a new credit card company for safety and self-defense businesses now! Of course, another aporoach is for the regulatory agency to require no discrimination!
Let’s use our voting piwer to toss out the woke and depraved starting in NOV!
Patriot Credit.
“The second scenario would be repeated school shootings” The Democrats do not want schools to be Safe and Secure for that very reason! Dead Children garners votes against firearms and firearm owners. Law-abiding American Citizens!
It makes you wonder if all this violence with firearms (because it’s NOT gun violence, there is no such thing), is being sponsored by the woke left. just a thought…
I’ve ALWAYS thought that. These constant mass/school shooting have just increased too much as of late along with gun bans/rule changes dem GC to be a “mere conincidence”….
add in it always turns out “everybody” that knew him and LE always “had them on the radar” beforehand.
The antis will stop at nothing to get rid of the 2A for the masses, this is just another avenue to do it. I ask this – will the government protect these people when “the thing” goes down and they are directly targeted? The answer is going to be no and they will just become casualties of their own, sick game.
to quote the mad queen: Words mean exactly what I say they mean, nohting less, and nothing more.”
Left can mean anything they want it to mean today. It may well be something else tomorrow. Hard to keepup with, I know. I can’t….
Problem is with the card associations, payment processors and the banks.
I don’t quite understand how a bank can do that, but a baker can be fined for refusing to bake a fag a wedding cake???
Harold. Editing is our friend. This is barely readable!
Funny hos so called conservatives scream about hte free market deciding and then want special treatment when it does and they do not like the result. Seems one of those whining would start a card processing company that does does not do this!
You’re gonna get beat up for this, you know you are.
And rightfully so. He twists the facts to support a political agenda. That is not logic, and he has been caught.
I don’t think that financial deplatforming is a “special treatment” that anyone wants. You are twisting the facts to support your argument … again.
Typical liberal lie and then twist the facts to fit your false narrative . Hope most the people in Arizona don’t live in your bubble clown .
So, to follow your logic, it is permissible for any business to violate any Bill of Rights statute under the guise of “free market”. Naw, I think I’ll disagree with that.
Although I will admit yesterday I was surfing around trying to figure out what alternatives were available instead of Paypal.
Zelle works well is instant, and no fees. Talk to your own bank.
Anyone who thinks this is an example of free markets doesn’t even understand the free market concept. America doesn’t have free markets anymore. Everything is either regulated or coerced.
While we’re at it, learn to proofread before you hit post.
We don’t call’em Dims for nuthin’.