In my prior post about Joe Biden’s people gun control plan, The Future Of Gun Ownership (Or Lack Thereof), I noted that many of Biden’s proposals are not direct, frontal assaults in the form of bans but rather seek to make owning and buying a firearm expensive and a hassle. The more they squeeze the industry, the more you will see companies dropping out of the business entirely. Outfits like Bud’s Gun Shop and Palmetto State Armory have brick and mortar storefronts but I assume do most of their business online. Others like Classic Firearms don’t even have a brick and mortar storefront and are completely online.
One of the most vulnerable links in the chain between a law abiding gun owner and the manufacturer is the financial system. Banks and payment processors like Paypal are notoriously political and anti-2nd Amendment. It is already tough for local gun stores to get a payment processor that will deal with firearms related businesses and it is only going to get worse. This news story demonstrates it already is:
US banks and financial institutions have been slowly severing ties with the gun industry
It is a slow and steady form of gun control gradually gaining momentum with limited public fanfare: If guns cannot be directly taken from the hands of citizens, the next best target is the banks and financial institutions that enable transactions or loans for the industry.
“Financial activism by banks is by far one of the largest emerging threats against Second Amendment rights,” Philip Watson, founder of Washington Public Relations and a Second Amendment advocate, told Fox News. “The federal government allows the financial industry to receive vast amounts of federal funds; however, those exact same funds free up their balance sheets enough to discriminate and play politics.”
While the big credit card processors, Mastercard and Visa, haven’t prohibited firearms sales yet, I would expect that will come if Biden wins. All it takes is one judge to rule that Mastercard can be sued for negligence if someone uses a gun they purchased with a Mastercard and then killed someone with it. Once that happens, they will slam the door shut on paying for firearms or ammo or even accessories with credit/debit cards.
It is tough to sell firearms that run $400-$2500 on just a cash basis.
Do you think the push toward electronic payments is a coincidence?
Again and again I keep saying: time is your ally right now but it will become your worst enemy in just a few short months. What you have on hand on election day in November might be all you are going to have for the foreseeable future. Plan accordingly.