Releasing The Gun
Industry From Obama’s Operation Choke Point
By Stacy Washington | Thursday, June 1, 2017
The Obama administration perfected the use of government
agencies against political enemies with Operation Choke Point. OCP was just as insidious
as the IRS Tea Party targeting scandal because innocent victims couldn’t escape
the ramifications of the government’s illegal actions against them. The
Department of Justice utilized the banking industry to “choke off” the ability
of certain “fraudulent” businesses in “high-risk” sectors to operate by cutting
off their access to financial services.
Businesses that were ill thought of or believed to
operate as conduits for consumer exploitation were targeted as high risk. Think
payment processors and payday lending operators, the types of firms that are
often accused of stiffing their hard-working customers through unfair business
practices. Sounds good, right?
Not so fast. The criteria were set by the tastes and
dictates of the president and hewed to his ideology without fail.
Consequently, the gun industry found itself in the
crosshairs, with many banking relationships suddenly cut off without notice or
explanation. Gun control activists operating within the federal bureaucracy had
the ability to drive legitimate Second Amendment-affiliated companies, such as
those selling guns and ammunition, to ground.
American Spirit Arms based in Arizona was the recipient
of rough treatment through its financial institution, Bank of America. The
company’s accounts and assets were frozen under suspicion that it was selling
firearms online without conducting federally mandated background checks. Under
closer inspection, American Spirit Arms was found to be completely within the
law: Every firearm bought online through its website was shipped to a Federal
Firearm License holder. Each FFL holder was then responsible for conducting the
background check before completing the sale. Not only is this legal, it debunks
the widely held leftist trope that any crazy nut can buy a gun online without
having a background check.
Based in Arizona, American Spirit Arms was just one
firearm-related company victimized; others, in Florida and Nevada, also had
assets frozen and accounts terminated without explanation. Sharing their plight
on Facebook prompted thousands more impacted
in the same way to speak out, garnering a ton of media
attention.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to defund OCP in
February 2016, but the measure failed to clear the Senate. Consequently, the
remnants of its destructive powers remain available to activists within the
government who are hell-bent on going beyond its original mandate by seeking
“to destroy three sectors of the private lending industry: third party payment
processors (“TPPPs”), payday lenders and online lenders.”
Enter U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., with his bill
to end this abuse of government power through the Financial
Institution Customer Protection Act. Since 2014, Luetkemeyer has
pushed to end OCP and create needed reforms to prevent this type of illegal
activity from happening again. The FICPA amends the Financial Institutions
Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 to ensure it can no longer be used
to justify using the financial industry to destroy businesses certain
government officials don’t like. Additional changes in the language would amend
FIRREA to prevent further abuses.
If this legislation becomes law, in order for a bank to
terminate a customer’s account, it would have to specify a quantifiable reason
for the closure. The financial institution would be required to provide the
reasons in writing and refer directly to the laws being broken; so called
“reputational risk” would not be enough to end a relationship. Luetkemeyer’s
bill is necessary to return gun industry businesses to normalcy with the
banking sector, as some banks have stopped transacting with 2A firms
altogether. Banks need legal assurances that there is no extra regulatory
burden associated with such companies.
Luetkemeyer is strongly advocating for passage of FICPA.
“Although there is a new administration and Department of Justice in place,
this legislation is necessary to ensure that no future administration will have
the opportunity to negatively impact individuals and legal businesses through
this unprecedented initiative,” Leutkemeyer said. “We must continue to demand
greater transparency and end the practice of allowing government bureaucrats to
use personal and political motivations to block financial services to licensed,
legally operating businesses.”
I couldn’t agree more. The bill needs co-sponsors and a
full-court press in the media to give it the national attention it deserves so
it can successfully roll back the misguided policies put in place by the last
administration. It’s ironic when we consider that one of the things former
President Obama is most known for is being the best gun salesman this country
has ever known—in spite of his very best efforts to the contrary.
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