2A Coalition Demand Banks Commit to Fairness for Firearms Industry

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at restoring fairness in the financial services industry, but there are signs that some big banks are still discriminating against gun makers, gun sellers, and others in the firearms industry. NSSF reported a few weeks ago that J.P. Morgan Wealth Management initially denied some services to Silencer Central CEO Brandon Maddox and his company, though the company reversed course after Maddox got the attention of higher-ups. 

Now a coalition of Second Amendment groups comprised of the NRA, Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, American Suppressor Association, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the National Association for Gun Rights, has send a letter to the CEOs of JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, along with the chair of the Bank Policy Institute, blasting the executives for trying to rewrite recent history when it comes to their discrimination against the firearms industry. 

Mr. Moynihan, you committed to stop lending to companies they suggested make “military style rifles for civilian use,” ignoring that what they vaguely referred to as “military style rifles” include some of the most popular firearms in America, used for hunting, home defense, and a range of constitutionally protected activities.

Mr. Dimon, as the CEO of the largest bank in the world, you told that same Congressional hearing you would “consider” following Bank of America’s lead in cutting off services to gun manufacturers, and added “if we think they are doing something wrong, our risk committee stops doing business with them.” What became clear later was when you said “doing something wrong,” you were referring to selling the most popular guns in America. 

In fact, you later clarified the policy in 2021 in testimony to a House panel, saying: “We do not finance the manufacture of military style weapons for civilian use.” While this rhetoric might be appealing to anti-gun activists, to those familiar with firearms, this was a signal that JP Morgan Chase would be cutting off banking services to manufacturers of the most popular firearms in America. 

That’s why it was so shocking and perplexing to see recent commentary from you and your representatives attempting to point the finger at Biden- and Obama-era regulators for discriminatory debanking. Rather than taking responsibility for unjust targeting of our industry and other causes and individuals considered right-leaning, including President Donald Trump and his family members, your representatives attempted to whitewash your well-documented history of targeting firearms manufacturers, retailers, and pro-Second Amendment non-profit organizations. When your banks announced your policies to limit business with gun manufacturers, you did not point to regulatory pressure, but cited your “values” and “corporate responsibility.” Some of your most restrictive debanking policies came in 2019, when neither Obama nor Biden were even in office. 

After reminding the executives of their past comments, the coalition then urged the trio to make a “formal, public commitment” that they will “no longer attempt to debank or otherwise discriminate against our companies or organizations.”

 Such a public statement would align with other proclamations you have made to the administration and the media about your purported commitment to fair banking. President Donald J. Trump and his administration have taken decisive action to undo the decades long erosion of Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Through amicus briefs in Barnett v Raoul and Peterson, as well as the most pro-Second Amendment executive order in our nation’s history signed by President Trump in February, it is clear that protecting the tens of millions of firearms owners across the country is a top priority for him. An equal application of rules and standards across industries is critical for fairness and ensuring the rights of law-abiding gun owners are not infringed. We look forward to your prompt response.

Some companies like Citibank have already publicly repudiated their past stances and have vowed to do business based on financial, not reputational risk. With the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency scrutinizing big financial services firms to ensure they’re no longer weaponizing the financial system, CEOs like JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan have even more incentive to make that public commitment the Second Amendment groups are calling for. 

We need more than words, though. These companies need to demonstrate through their actions that businesses within the firearms industry are valued customers, not pariahs. And though President Trump’s executive order should address this discrimination, that order can always be repealed the next time a Democrat is sitting in the White House, so it’s important that Congress pass the Fair Access to Banking Act and Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act, which would guarantee a level playing field going forward. 

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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