U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.); Image courtesy NSSF

“Get woke, go broke.” When political posturing–at the expense of the Constitution–supersedes profit, everyone loses.

You would think that, having seen what rejecting the Second Amendment-guaranteed freedoms of Americans did to soften Dick’s, the nation’s lenders would have figured out that it’s not a great idea. But if you thought that, you thought wrong … banks across the U.S. have been quietly discriminating against the firearms industry while accepting taxpayer funds. It’s one thing for a private organization to elect not to do business with someone; it’s quite another to take their tax dollars in one hand and while issuing them a single-digit salute with the other.  In this great article from the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s inimitable Larry Keane, you’ll learn just what one  brave U.S. Representative is doing about it. Take it away, Larry!

_______________________________________________________________________

NSSF WELCOMES REP. BERGMAN’S FIND ACT INTRODUCTION IN CONGRESS

NEWTOWN, Conn. — NSSF^®, the firearm industry trade association, welcomed the introduction of H.R. 6970, the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act, into Congress by U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.). The bill has 55 original co-sponsors. This vital legislation will end the ability of corporate entities from profiting from taxpayer-funded federal contracts while discriminating against a Constitutionally-protected industry at the same time.

“This legislation is critical to ensuring ‘woke’ corporations don’t use their financial might, funded by taxpayers, to deny essential services to the firearm industry,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Corporations, in particular financial institutions, have been dictating public policies from boardrooms that throttle firearm businesses, which are Constitutionally-protected. This bill will no longer allow those corporations to benefit from taxpayer dollars while at the same time using those funds to deny Americans their Second Amendment rights. We thank Congressman Bergman for his leadership to ensure fairness in business, reasserting Congress’s role in ensuring the federal government isn’t picking winners and losers in the marketplace based on politics and protecting the ability of a lawful industry to compete for services without artificial and agenda-driven barriers.”

Congressman Bergman’s FIND Act doesn’t tell companies with whom they must do business. However, just as companies can chose who they wish to do business with, so can the government when it spends taxpayer money. This bill ensures corporations cannot benefit from contracts and subcontracts funded by taxpayers only to use their financial strength to unfairly discriminate against the firearm industry. For far too long, corporations have engaged in “boardroom gun control” to force firearm businesses to adopt measures that would restrict Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Corporations are free to hold these anti-Second Amendment policies if they choose but would forfeit access to compete for federal contracts.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed a similar law in Texas in 2021 and similar legislation is being considered in other state capitols. Congressman Bergman’s legislation would bring those same fair business protections to the federal government to ensure corporate entities are not forcing policies that deny American civil liberties through the benefit of taxpayer-funded federal contracts.