I'm not talking about the same thing Peter, Bayou Renaissance Man, and Zero Hedge talk about: about credit card companies getting involved in micromanaging purchases.
[S]ome banks and credit card companies are now considering a more permanent move that would transform them into foot soldiers in the deep state's push to create a register of all gun owners. The Wall Street Journal [paywall warning] reported Monday that some lenders are now discussing ways to identify purchases of guns through their payment systems. This would effectively transform them into tools of the intelligence services by monitoring virtually all gun sales at sporting goods stores and other merchants that aren't transacted in cash.What I'm talking about is how New York Governor Cuomo is pressuring the financial institutions, which have large presences in New York City, to have nothing to do with gun makers, gun sellers, the NRA, insurance or anything related to guns.
Cuomo, a Democrat seeking a third term as governor, says he wants “every individual, company and organization that does business across the state” to make gun safety “a top priority.”The Blaze has a more complete quote from Cuomo:
To that end, the state Department of Financial Services Commissioner Maria Vullo, a Cuomo appointee, on April 19 urged the banks and insurance companies regulated by her agency to sever any ties they may have with the National Rifle Association and similar groups.
“New York may have the strongest gun laws in the country, but we must push further to ensure that gun safety is a top priority for every individual, company, and organization that does business across the state … I am directing the Department of Financial Services to urge insurers and bankers statewide to determine whether any relationship they may have with the NRA or similar organizations sends the wrong message to their clients and their communities who often look to them for guidance and support. This is not just a matter of reputation, it is a matter of public safety, and working together, we can put an end to gun violence in New York once and for all.”Although it's often cited as aftermath of the Parkland shooting, Chubb Insurance informed the NRA they would no longer issue the NRA's Carry Guard Insurance three months prior to Parkland. Business Insurance magazine (previous link) says the New York Department of Financial Services launched an investigation into Carry Guard last year. That implies New York has been at this for a while and it has nothing to do with Cuomo's campaign or any specific event. Chubb appears to be a subcontractor to Lockton Affinity in Carry Guard. Lockton Affinity Insurance told the NRA they would no longer sell any insurances that they previously sold for the NRA - which I find strange since I just got my bill for my NRA firearms insurance renewal as if everything was the same as always.
I think everyone pretty well recognizes that a typical manufacturer can't do business without a banking partner and that short to longer term loans are part of their world. I'm optimistic that other banks and other insurance companies will step forward to make the money these companies are giving up, but that doesn't mean there can't be interruptions and difficulties.
For individual buyers, though, it seems that buying on a credit or debit card could go through periods of trouble. Our state just passed a law prohibiting long gun sales to 18-21 year old buyers, and that's what Citicorp and BoA have passed as their new regulations. I suggest that if you're in that age group, live in a state where you can buy one, and would use one of their credit cards to buy your long gun, take out a cash advance.
All that said, and always remember IANAL, I think that banks like BoA and Citigroup, that are recipients of tons of taxpayer dollars, should be required to respect the civil rights of all people. Maybe we should push on our elected officials to remind them of that. Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan famously said, "We don’t think it’s a good idea for banks to decide what products and services Americans can buy," Around the same time, Visa issued a statement saying, “We do not believe Visa should be in the position of setting restrictions on the sale of lawful goods and services.”
Make no mistake, there are tons of people on the anti-gun side who think that destroying gun sales this way is completely right and they're mad at Visa for not trying to shut off gun purchases. They have no problem destroying the gun business By Any Means Necessary. It's not just New York and not just the NY Times; even Arizona Central puts up an editorial praising Dick's Sporting Goods and attacking Visa for not stopping sales of guns.
Right, back before that oh so tragic canoe accident that dumped all my guns into a raging river, I paid cash for every one of them except a Taurus .45 that I bought used at a gun show. In another state.
ReplyDeleteThis caused an instant back ground check and then I had to pay a gun broker to transfer the damn thing literally across a river and two miles into the state I live in and then had to make an appointment to go pick it up.
There is a paper trail on that pistol a mile long. Exactly what those gun grabbing bastards want.
Cash is King. The less anyone knows about what you are doing with it, the better.
It is this country's "finest" who enable this. In direct violation of their very oath of office to the Constitution. Because, after all, the black robed seers have said it isn't a problem.
ReplyDeleteThere is a solution.
The existence of authorities satisfies instinctual political drives inherited from monkeys. When most people realize they could have liberty, they experience a political form of agoraphobia. If there aren't enough totalitarian dictators around they make them up, like Tom Hanks talking to the volleyball on the deserted island.
DeleteIf average Americans put up as much resistance to bad laws as the Amish or Quakers do, there would be no bad laws. But instead, average American are co-dependents, and obey laws for instant background checks and gun brokers and pay the salaries of the "finest" and the black robed seers.
Average Americans understand what the Only Ones will do to them if they dare stand against the treason. And hive dwellers luvs them some Communism, so until the hives' supply chains are cut, the Only Ones can sortie out against anyone who dares, then return to their citadel once they have finished their murders.
DeleteWhen the fun starts, if FreeFor intends to win, they had better take out the hive supply chains. Especially power and water, which every hive in this country imports from outside their territory. Such action will give the Only Ones something more important to do than to murder anyone who actually believes that "shall not be infringed" means what it says.
Average Americans luvs them some Communism, that's why they keep voting for the executives, legislators, judges, prosecutors, and sheriffs who do it. People who hire murderers are just as guilty as the murderers. Democracy is not a moral escape from liability.
DeleteUnlike every other white collar occupation, computer programmers don't have legal requirements for licenses, degrees, insurance, continuing education, OSHA inspections, unions, special occupational taxes, or the Federal Software Administration. How is this possible when the Only Ones will irresistibly crush the rebel alliance? Answer is, they can't. Government is movie magic. There's a huge backdrop of the imperial palace in capitol city, but it's a matte painting on glass. There are three real guards outside who shoot individuals crashing the gates. The successful, drama-free resisting of gun registration in Connecticut in 2014 by mass disobedience shows the citizens are firmly in control.
The fun has already started. Obamacare is in operation; you can't keep your doctor. The claim that liberation can only happen after some Mad Max movie madness is because Average Americans luvs them some Communism. They prefer it the way it is.
Thought experiment: You tell your neighbors 'Me and my armed buddies kidnapped so-and-so and are holding them in a prison cage for treason'. Convince them you did it, perhaps with fake pictures. What percentage of your neighbors do you think will snitch on you to the authorities? Given that, what persons compose this "Freefor" you refer to? Not those people.
DeleteIf a person is still voting, they are probably not your ally.
Lockton is an insurance broker. They own this program and Chubb was the insurance carrier that backed it. They will change to another insurance carrier. Insurance carriers/companies are highly regulated. They like to stay in the good graces of their regulators - who can make like painful for them. So the insurance carriers and banks will drop the gun business as the path of least resistance. I don't like where this is going. That said, guns are not big tobacco and there will be alternatives. Cash in one. Other banks or financial institutions/insurance companies should fill the void if there is $$ to be made.
ReplyDelete