U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- When it comes to gun control, many people think of legislation, political campaigns, and even ballot issues. Lately, though, a new front is opening up in the battle for our Second Amendment rights – and it is primarily in corporate corner offices and boardrooms.
Major corporations are now siding with those who attack our Second Amendment rights. Sounds harsh, but that is the objective reality behind the decisions of a number of companies who cut ties with the National Rifle Association in the wake of the shooting in Parkland. But it is going beyond that, as well.
Banks are already enacting policies to close accounts used by Federal Firearms License holders. This was started under Operation Choke Point, and even though the government version was shut down, the approach has been seized on by anti-Second Amendment activists funded by Michael Bloomberg, who have pressured Bank of America and Citibank to take action.
The fact is, Bloomberg and others who seek to make the Second Amendment a dead letter have doubled down on the social stigmatization of those who exercise their constitutional rights to keep and bear arms, as well as using their First Amendment rights to protect the Second Amendment. This is part of the reason Silicon Valley’s push against the Second Amendment is so dangerous, as well.
Some of this has been pushed by officials like New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo’s had a long history of hostility towards the Second Amendment, and his most recent efforts to use bank regulations to try to deny the National Rifle Association financial services shows just how far he will take that hostility. Cuomo justified it by declaring that the NRA is “causing carnage” (never mind that the real responsibility is with the perps), and “bad guys” (even though they stand for tougher sentences for the criminal misuse of firearms).
Cuomo, it seems, has decided that those who exercise their First Amendment rights to oppose gun control deserve to be silenced with the power of the government. Second Amendment supporters have used freedom of speech to explain why gun control laws are not good ideas. They have used the freedom of assembly to not only rally for the Second Amendment but to form organizations like the National Rifle Association, to magnify their voices in support of the Second Amendment. They also have exercised the right to petition for the redress of grievances, both through contacting elected officials and in having those pro-Second Amendment organizations do so. They have even used the freedom of the press to establish outlets like NRA TV and NRA News.
The goal of corporate gun control is to make the exercise of not just Second Amendment rights far more difficult (if not impossible), but to also make the exercise of one’s First Amendment rights in defense of the Second Amendment far more difficult and costly at best, if not making it impossible. With the former, it would be a simple matter of cutting FFLs off from financial services should they decide to keep selling (or manufacturing) AR-15-type rifles.
For the latter, it is simply a case of getting Second Amendment advocates to choose not to speak out. Already on social media, Silicon Valley has allowed hateful comments against Dana Loesch to stand for a long time. But that is the tip of the iceberg. It is about making Second Amendment defenders feel isolated and alone.
What is to be done about this? With the House in the hands of the Democrats, there isn’t much that can be done on the legislative front (albeit, it would not hurt to push legislation prohibiting financial services companies from not doing business with any business making legal products or organizations and people that exercise their constitutional rights). Right now, what can be done is grassroots efforts, including several of the efforts that can be used to combat social stigmatization.
The fight for our Second Amendment rights is entering a new phase. This time, though, the stakes are far higher. Corporate gun control is going to be difficult, but not impossible, to defeat. It just will take a long time.
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.