Gun sale (courtesy nytimes.com)
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Bank of America wants to talk to gun makers about assault weapons cnn.com reveals. “I spent my whole life trying not to be careless,” Bank America CEO Brian T. Moynihan told BOA clients who manufacture modern sporting rifles. “Women and children can afford to be careless, but not men.” Wait. That was Don Corleone in The Godfather. But you knew that because . . .

a latter-day Don wouldn’t be so misogynistic. In fact (not fiction), we don’t know what Mr. Moynihan is going to say to AR makers. In a statement released earlier today, BOA announced their corporate desire to “examine what we can do to help end the tragedy of mass shootings.”

“[A]n immediate step we’re taking is to engage the limited number of clients we have that manufacture assault weapons for non-military use to understand what they can contribute to this shared responsibility,” the statement . . . reads? Warns? Promises? Nothing good.

I’d like Mr. Moynihan to tell AR makers “Thank you for helping protect Americans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. Rest assured that Bank of America fully supports any company selling any legal product legally.” But then I’d like to say Peter North and I have something in common. (We don’t. He’s Canadian.)

Bank of America’s statement follows a New York Times editorial calling for the financial industry to push back against “the massive gun lobby” by refusing to process firearm sales through its credit cards.

Meanwhile, Blackrock is making equally ominous noises towards American Outdoor Brands (a.k.a., Smith & Wesson) and Ruger, two companies in which the world’s largest asset manager (not unfamiliar with insider trading) maintains a significant shareholdings. And the number of companies distancing themselves from the NRA continues to grow.

Since Thursday, a wave of companies — including United and Delta airlines, Metlife and six car rental brands — have abandoned the National Rifle Association. They’ve pulled discount deals they used to offer to NRA members, and one local bank in Omaha pledged to stop issuing an NRA-branded Visa card.

None of those companies gave specific reasons for parting ways with the NRA, but their announcements came as the hashtag #BoycottNRA flooded social media.

The enemies of firearms freedom are a devious lot. By coming out against the NRA, these companies have outed themselves. For that The People of the Gun thank them. And nothing else.

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100 COMMENTS

  1. If credit card companies or banks start declining transactions for firearms and related accessories/ammo, you can always use a pre-paid card like Visa/Mastercard/American Express, but you’ll have to put money on the card with cash.

    • Hmmmm….without credit cards I will have to pay cash. Might as well do that in the gun show parking lot without a background check.

      Sounds like Bank of America is promoting the gun show loophole. We should start a boycott with demanding moms to shut them down, the murderers.

      • Gun sales are a multi-billion dollar business so I doubt that banks will bail on handling gun sales. . . or at least for very long. If BOA wants to stop that’s fine; there are other banks out there that would love to scoop up the gun sales business. It’s called market capitalism., Similarly, treating the NRA badly comes with it’s own high costs in the form of a pissed off and politically active 5 million plus membership.

      • That’s what the last administration did obummer & holder. Does anyone remember “Operation Choke Point?”…….Totally illegal except the criminals in office authorized it.

    • I think the issue is less about cardholders being able to use their cards to buy gun stuff, but rather that the banks and services that process the credit cards on behalf of gun shops and manufacturers would cease offering those services for gun-related manufacturers.

      There’s plenty of precedent for banks to deny service or impose extra costs to certain industries like casinos, strip clubs, etc. There’s a bunch of boutique services that cater to those markets, though.

      I’m not saying it’s right, and I’m disappointed that BofA is even considering this at all, but it’s not unprecedented and it wouldn’t cripple the gun industry one bit.

      • It may be unlawful, though.

        Depends on wether the Christian bakers have to bake cakes against their religious beliefs an/or wether SCOTUS draws a distinction between private companies and publicly-traded corporations in the baking case.

        Further, there may already be banking laws against singling out lawful industries for political reasons. We got a huge collection of stuff in the CFR; there’s probably something in there somewhere.

        • There are specific statues that criminalize discrimination against individuals due to sex, age, race, religion, national origin and sexual preference, as those groups have suffered from “invidious discrimination.” There are no such laws that criminalize a discriminatory refusal to process gun purchase transactions or financing gun industries. In point of fact, Obama’s Operation Choke Point targeted, among others, gun sellers and smaller manufacturers.

        • Hello Mad Max: It took me a moment to get your point. A wether is the sheep world’s version of a steer (the wife raises hair sheep). I think the word you intended to use is “whether”, not to be confused with weather. My wether couldn’t decide whether to seek shelter from the weather. BTW, hair sheep don’t produce wool, they produce hair which is worthless but they tolerate warm climates better than wool sheep.

        • “There are specific statues that criminalize discrimination against individuals due to sex, age, race, religion, national origin and sexual preference, as those groups have suffered from “invidious discrimination.”

          Well, as I’ve often been told, I’m an ammosexual. Discriminating against my sexual preference for large guns due to my tiny penis (their claim, not mine) is clearly a violation, no?

    • what about payment by cheque?
      isn’t there an “instant cheque clearing” scheme available to most merchants now?

    • Wonder how many guys with AR’s are protecting the personnel and assets of Bank of America. But then, they have to cops on speed dial if one George Washington is threatened. Guaranteed to be there quicker than at a mass murder scene.

  2. If major manufacturers start making them, cottage industries – and cover hobbyists – will fill in the holes in the supply chain. There won’t be any serial numbers on the home made guns

    The law of unintended consequences. There will be millions of unserialized guns

  3. No problem. I will do no business with any of these companies. Now obviously, these companies could care less about little old me. However when (hopefully) millions do the same, that will make them stand up and take notice.

      • Same here Larry! We have to draw a line in the sand. Enough is enough for the “Legal” masses! I have been an NRA magazine reader if not member all my life. My Brother and I were taught proper handling and respect for any firearm in any environment. Like any kid I got into fights with boys and had my young heart broken by the girls! Never did I feel the need shoot anyone, not anyone ever.

    • Pretty hard to boycott companies I already don’t do business with.

      However, should the need arise for their type of services then, yes, their corporate positions and decisions will count towards my selection of providers.

      The left and the MSM keep pushing for a divided United States. They should be careful what they hope for. They may not like the results.

      • I’d be willing to bet most of those promoting the boycott of these companies (bc of their NRA affiliation) aren’t patrons either. But the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So now those companies are alienating real customers by dropping the NRA, & appeasing those who make the most noise regardless of their status as a customer. Seems kinda ass-backwards, but such is modern America.

  4. ” But then I’d like to say Peter North and I have something in common. (We don’t. He’s Canadian.)”

    Well, he is a car guy. Not exotic or important ones, but he’s had some fast tuner cars…

  5. Gun owners will no longer use Bank of America which are in the millions.
    Brian Moynihan is heavily tied to liberal/Democrat politics.

  6. A business exists to provide a service or product in exchange for a fee and nothing more. Any company that would put politics ahead of profit is a poorly managed one by definition and in any case invites other companies to snatch away customers.

    These communist sympathizers actually do their competors and the American public a great service by proclaming their hatred for the U.S. Constitution. I hope more like-minded companies do likewise; I have no problem taking my money elsewhere.

  7. I suspect rather strongly that it will be a very, very cold day in Hell before my Amex card doesn’t work for a gun related purchase.

    Why? Because Amex likes money and they don’t much care where it comes from provided that what I buy with their card is legal and that I pay the bill on time.

  8. Maybe it’s finally time to close my BoA account and find an institution not hostile to freedom. Anyone have any suggestions?

    • I’ve never had any problems with my Discover or AM EX. Every year I have used my BofA to write one of their interest free checks for my state income taxes. This will be the final year and as soon as it’s paid off, the account will be closed.

    • USAA, Navy Federal Credit Union, or any others that serve current and former DOD. Provided you, your dad, your mom, your brother, your sister, or grandparents served.

      • Ya forgot children! Don’t forget the kids!! My son deployed three times to three different countries and was decorated by the Air Force, Army, and the Navy. He now is an instructor to pilots. As a parent I bank at Navy Federal C.U. and if I chose to I could use USAA for my insurance needs.

    • If there’s any credit union that you can qualify to join, they’re likely to give you better service and rates. Failing that, a local or regional bank chain is likely to give you better service than a national bank.

    • Discover and Amex both have top-notch customer service (in my experience), though they charge merchants more than Visa and MasterCard, so it’s not uncommon for some small businesses to not accept them. But get one of these as a primary card.

      And +1 to credit unions. Not only are they a great way to avoid the dumb fees that banks invent, but most will issue their own credit cards (Visa or MasterCard) as well. So get Int a credit union for your savings and get their card as a backup for places they don’t accept your primary.

      Then just pay your balances off in full each month, and you’re golden.

      True story about B of A: they were one of the first banks in my area to start putting ATMs and service desks in grocery stores, so when I was just starting out I opened a savings account with them for the convenience of getting at my cash. That lasted until my first paycheck came in. They wanted to charge me $5 to deposit it. That check was issued by (drumroll) Bank of America! They told me BofA in CA was different than BofA in AZ, where we were. I told them to give me back my paycheck, everything in my account and close it.

      Institutional idiocy is nothing new to them. I’d heartily recommend dumping them regardless of where they stand on guns.

  9. Oh, so now Bank Of America is the voice of reason? The FDIC sued them for half a billion dollars in unpaid insurance fees, and they recently settled the overdraft thing for $65m. And that’s just in the last year! Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be taking any advice from them.

    These vipers have a rap sheet a mile long that would put every spree-shooter to shame: https://www.corp-research.org/bank-of-america

    • What you see is them running from the potential of “bad press” and consumer boycotts. They may be criminals, but the NRA is now being blamed for the slaughter of children, unfairly to be sure, and these giants do not want that association to rub off on them or affect their (disgustingly lucrative) business.

  10. Obviously a smart orginzation like the NRA should have no problem securing other “Pro-USA/Pro-American/Pro-2a/Pro-American Freedom, companies…And should do so quickly….Rubbing it in the faces of the enemy! (Re: EU Globalist/Communist SH!t Bags/the rest of the collaborators, and Anti-American shills….)

  11. Alright, I’ll start a bank for all of the “bad” things in America which are completely legal, but PC has destroyed. It’ll also be open to pot shops operating in legal states under the state law and in complete compliance. Super low interest rates, no hassle payment scheduling, and no late fees. Also, decent acrewal rates for savings and CD’s. Each CCW, LEO, other first responder, retail gun shops, and repairs will all get a free $50 in each checking account.

  12. I’m a frequent business traveler who flies first class and full rate – complements of my company. I just let Delta and United know that I will never again fly their airlines. They just lost tens of thousands of dollars from just this one customer. I told them to stick with what they do best and leave the politics to the politicians. We all need to send a similar message by no longer giving them our business. This silent majority needs to start speaking up.

  13. Well this should be fun as B of A is the clearing house the NFA branch uses, for machine guns and all those other fun toys no less.

    • And don’t forget that Wells Fargo was offering bank accounts to illegal aliens w/o SSN’s. I immediately closed my accounts with them.

  14. One door closes, another door opens….. I feel like they would hurt themselves about as much or more than hurting the gun industry. There are a lot of gun people out there, so BOA could find themselves with a drop in business. Wouldn’t that be a slap 👋🏼 in the face. Only one thing left to say.. #boycottboa #outallantis

    • I’m going to have to get my cash back for last years purchases but I’m going to cancel my cards with them and close my accounts.
      It sucks because they have lots of branches where I living and it’s very convenient but screw an American company that tries to stifle Americans civil right.

      • Absolutely right Cam. I also refuse to be a patron of Target and Starbucks, and any company openly against the second amendment.

        • Been doing boycotts for years and list just keeps getting longer–but I get everything I need just somewhere else. I vote with my dollars; one company alone has lost 30k of my business, but I doubt if they care (too big).

  15. Looks like Ruger needs to buy a bank….and start issuing credit cards.

    Im up for that…. if I can use my points to buys guns…..

  16. let me get this straight

    the very same banks that almost bankrupted america on purpose for their own profit and never saw one single day of jail time now suddenly have a social conscience

    rings kind of hollow

    kind of like when pro choice nancy pelosi says were here for the children

    • They do not have a social conscience. They do not have a conscience; this is all about corporate greed. They are afraid that a boycott promoted by the Moms will impact their bottom line.

  17. I hate to say this, but Christ, will the liberals just get this civil war started already! I am the last one to ever want war, but I am so sick and tired of these minions of tyranny playing with matches over a powder keg acting like there will be no repercussions. The 2nd amendment is a right that can only be taken away by a constitutional amendment, and to try it any other way is treason. Can any of the usual left wing trolls explain to me why you leftists want to go to war? Just give me one reason for this lunacy! Am I the only one who sees this elephant in the room? Geez louise, has America gone nuts!

    • Right with you. Just had this very same conversation with some friends this week. I mean, just what on earth do they really think is gonna happen if they try to do away with the republic as we know it? We slipped up and have allowed these socialists and their ideology to creep into positions of power, schools, universities, etc and they have pumped the brains of our youth for years now. We are really starting to see the destruction it has caused. Socialism/communism has an absolute horrid hx and yet we have a portion of our youth who have abandoned American values for it…..hate to say it, but don’t think it’s gonna end well one day.

      • I couldnt agree more, i think as a member of gen x that we raised a bunch of messed up kids. They were brain washed in school and forced to learn spanish. They cut a lot of our history out of their curriculum and they are entitled and they just dont get it. I joined the National Guard at 39 years old, so i went through basic training with the millenials. They whined about everything and questioned every order instead of just doing what they were told, and dont get me started on their physical abilities, lol. Im moving to Idaho this summer, the civil war can start as soon as i move there, lol. You can bet i will get involved in politics to make sure that the liberals from Seattle dont move ther and try to ruin it like Seattle, lmao.

        • Nice. We need many more people to stand and protect the foundation on which America was built on. We have been the silent majority for way to long. It is time for our voices to be heard again. Loud and clear! Lol

    • I don’t disagree with you there BOB999, except on this point:

      “The 2nd amendment is a right that can only be taken away by a constitutional amendment, and to try it any other way is treason.”

      The Second Amendment is not a right. The protections spelled out in it can only be taken away through a constitutional amendment. However, the right still exists; the right is not taken away. The individual right to keep and bear arms is inalienable to the individual. It exists independent and in spite of any government. The text of the 2A just means that government is mandated to respect that right by not infringing. But, government has been violating “shall not be infringed” for a very long time now. It has operated beyond even its paper “authority.” Think of it this way… Slavery was legal at one time but the individual slaves still possessed their unalienable rights despite whatever government laws said about the matter.

      We are already in a civil war and have been since before any of us were born. The way statists are fighting IS their current method of waging civil war. There have been many actual casualties. They are all those who have died as a result of the infringement of their inalienable individual rights.

      • I agree. I just wanted to clarify to the left that there is only one legal place that this right can be modified, that the legislature, executive branch, and the courts have no unilateral authority under the constitution to alter it, and that any action outside of a new constitutional amendment is unlawful regardless if it has been done in the past. Thank you for bringing it up.

    • One final comment…

      The trolls had their chance to respond to my post, and all I got was silence. All I asked for is an explanation why they want to force us into a civil war. Nothing. Not a single word. So predictable.

  18. I recall a few years back some credit card processors began denial of payment. Thus, leading Kelly McMillan of McMillan Bros Rifles to create McMillan Merchant Services.

    Sounds like McMillan Bank might be next.

    • I’d be down with that. With all the companies that announced that they’re cutting ties with the NRA I found my car insurance company was one of them. First thing Monday I’m calling my agent and switching, even if it costs more.

      The NRA makes a lot of mistakes but there’s no fucking way I’m paying a company money so that they can use my own money to attack my rights. Chubb Insurance and I are DONE.

  19. This should be pretty easy. The NRA has million of members and protects the gun industry that is worth billions a year. They spent millions in the last campaign to put someone in charge, who it just so happens gets to pick the head of the treasury department. Developing a institution with some financial backing shouldn’t be that had with the numbers we are talking. Then just to kick the blue states in the nuts they should also market the bank to pot dealers who can’t find any banks to take their money either. Hell if they do it right they could end up sending dividend checks to their members. LoL I will take mine in the form of a saw 249.

  20. Let’s hope the GA state legislature addresses Delta’s requested tax break appropriately:

    “ATLANTA, GA – Former State Senator and candidate for Lt. Governor Rick Jeffares today called on the Georgia Legislature to reject Delta Airlines plea for a special $40 million tax break on aviation fuel. Following Delta’s snub of the 100,000 plus Georgia NRA members whose travel discounts the airline just eliminated for political reasons, Jeffares reasons that they must have plenty of money to burn.

    “If Delta is so flush that they don’t need NRA members hard-earned travel dollars, they can certainly do without the $40 million tax break they are asking Georgia taxpayers for,” Jeffares said.”

    It’ll be interesting to see what the legislature does.

  21. how many gun-owners are there in the US?
    how many of them support the NRA?
    how many of them support companies like Sturm-Ruger who make ‘assault’ rifles?
    that doesn’t mean they have to be “paid-up” members or actual share-holders but, just, “supporters”;
    two can play the ‘boycott’ game;
    a flood of letters and faxes to the CEO’s of those anti-NRA, anti-gunmaker companies threatening to not only boycott all their products and services but threatening that all your friends and relations will, also, boycott their services, will very soon make them “sit up and take notice”
    of course: i recommend letters and faxes rather than emails or telephone calls because there are hard-copy records kept of the former whereas the latter can simply be ‘deleted’ or ignored….

  22. Bank of America? Are they coming up with a solution for us?
    Did they finish paying their 16 billion dollar fine yet? The one for helping to screw up the subprime market?

    http://time.com/3153262/bank-of-america-record-16-billion-fine-mortgages-subprime-loans/

    “The Justice Department announced Thursday that Bank of America will pay a record $16.65 billion fine to settle allegations that it knowingly sold toxic mortgages to investors.

    “The sum represents the largest settlement between the government and a private corporation in the United States’ history, coming at the end of a long controversy surrounding the bank’s role in the recent financial crisis. In issuing bad subprime loans, some observers say, the bank helped fuel a housing bubble that would ultimately burst in late 2007, devastating the national and global economy.”

    • What is sad about the settlement is that it is paltry in comparison to the hundreds of billions that BofA et al stole, but put out of reach of creditors by paying massive salaries and bonuses to its top executives. The same executives that essentially looted their companies and required federal bailouts when the chickens came home to roost.

    • In a country with common sense, the financial services sector would have been decorating lamp posts after the sub-prime debacle.

  23. I’d ignore this as posturing, except BofA would know about making products bad for their customers and worse for society. So, maybe they’re the experts here.

  24. Bud’s Gun Shop posted the following on their Facebook page two days ago (Feb 23, 2018):

    “PayPal pulls payment option from Budsgunshop.com today. Although PayPal originally contacted and pursued us/Buds years ago to add PayPal as a payment option to our website for all non-restricted items (accessories, clothing, camping, archery, fishing, etc) we were informed via email from PayPal earlier today that our account had been frozen due to an unspecified “violation”. We have asked for specific details of the violation but have not yet received a response. Although not impossible, it is not likely we actually committed a “violation”. This is much more likely another predictable response by a liberal anti-gun company to separate themselves from “evil gun companies” following a high profile shooting. Their notice says the action “cannot be appealed”…. which is convenient in that we would have no idea what we are appealing anyway! “

  25. As soon as I read this, I went to BOA website and sent them an email. Basically indicated that I was a 30 year customer and that if they continued their current anti second amendment shenanigans that I would drop them like a hot rock. They might not care, but neither do I. Time to put a stop to the leftist hysteria.

  26. Bank of America is a corrupt institution. I withdrew my business years ago. I won’t be surprised when the news suddenly breaks, that they’ve been caught doing something akin to the Wells Fargo scandal.

  27. I’ve Been a BoA Visa C.C. Customer Since 2012, Just Because They Want Us (Their Customers) To Ban The N.R.A. Doesn’t Mean I Should Drop My Financial Institution Like a Bad Habit. I’ll Never Give My Gun(s) So I Could Care Less What These Fortune 500 Companies Say or Do…

    • BoA will never ask you, or any other customer to “Ban The N.R.A.”, but if they decide to put their money up against the firearms industry or the NRA, they will be using your money. I don’t want my money to used in any fight against any part of the US Constitution, particularly the 2nd Amendment.

  28. “I spent my whole life trying not to be careless,” Bank America CEO Brian T. Moynihan told BOA clients who manufacture modern sporting rifles.
    He was very careful when he propped up sub-prime loans and derivatives that tanked the economy and his bank was bailed out by us. His bank was one of the “too big to fail” giant banks that gave loans to people they knew couldn’t afford.
    In 2014, the Bank of America reached a record settlement of nearly $17 billion to resolve an investigation into its role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis, officials directly familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

    Watch the movie “The Big Short”. BoA are lying opportunists. You know…a bank. Take your money out now.

  29. Ummm…we have a Bank of Amerika account.They owe us money from the illegal late fee class action suit. None of the local banks are better(like Chase). And they are all predatory and evil. For now we’ll boycott all the anti-NRA scum. And proclaim it far and wide…

  30. Here we are folks, the Left’s most multi-armed attack on the Constitution is being led by “the children”… er muppets.

    They realized their “homegrown” protest groups were as ineffective as they were contrived (MDA, Everytown) so they are cashing in their chips with all their “friends in high places” — aka companies and CEOs to deny us services.

    With airlines and banks dropping support, maybe it’s time we deny them services as well. Don’t like guns? Fine, let’s see how you do without them.

    The private security for all the anti-gun CEOs and companies have a duty to stop their support for these tyrants. No more armed guards, police, armed citizens, or military response for them.

    Let’s see who wins this battle for necessities. It’s a no-brainer but the Left has a history of learning the hard way.

    This is going to be hilarious.

  31. This BofA and Enterprise crap prompted me to re-join NRA yesterday. I had gotten tired of all the solicitations from NRA but I’m even more tireder (dibs on the new word) of all this corporate libtard crap.

  32. This is the biggest threat to the 2A to date, it’s the same tool they used to try and shut down wiki-leaks by bleeding them of money. Look deeper, if banks refuse to do business with gun manufacturers and gun shops everything in the industry will have to be done in cash.

  33. According to FinancialNewsMedia.com “Bank of America seems to have been the most accommodating bank (for pot businesses). Over half of the marijuana businesses included in the survey had accounts at the bank”. In all fairness, in 2014 the Obama administration encouraged banks to cooperate with the emerging marijuana businesses in order “to enhance the availability of financial services for, and the financial transparency of, marijuana-related businesses” according to the US Dept. of Treasury.

    BoA however claimed that “As a federally regulated financial institution, we abide by federal law and do not bank marijuana-related businesses.” But they lied. Now the leading pot financier is refusing to deal with the lawful firearms business. Hypocrisy, thy name is Bank of America.

  34. I have been with BOA for over 30 years and if they do this I will pull my account we law abiding gun owners need to make a stand.

  35. It’s like the Liberals want a civil war. If that’s what happens they’ll get bullets. This is still America and I’m not going to have people telling me what I can and cannot buy.

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