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Smoke This Poll, Gun-Grabbers

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They didn’t have an option for “Bend Over And I’ll Show You.”

The first thing all trial lawyers are taught is this: Never ask a question that you don’t already know the answer to.

There’s a reason why trial lawyers learn the lesson “never ask a question you don’t already know the answer to” before they even learn how to bill in 5-minute increments. That’s because, sometimes, when you ask a question, people are rude enough to answer. What’s hilarious about gun grabbers is that, like that one weird chick in the seventh grade who picked her nose in class, they have no idea that most Americans find their proposed “gun violence solutions” as appetizing as a freshly harvested booger. That’s why they keep polling people about their gun-grabbing schemes, and why they keep being shocked every time the polls say, “No thank you, and please wash your hands.” It’s even funnier when they try it in a market that they think they’re sure about, and still have to go to prom alone. Today, our friends at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have the details about the newest anti-gun poll and the way it’s backfired … take it away, Larry Keane!

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POLL IN GUN CONTROL FRIENDLY-D.C. DOESNโ€™T GO GUN CONTROLโ€™S WAY


By Larry Keane

The recent news about major credit card companies tracking purchases at firearm retailers is ruffling feathers. That is, with everyone except the nationโ€™s largest gun control groups and supporters.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)ย announcedย late last month it created a firearm-specific Merchant Category Code (MCC) and itโ€™s gone over like a lead balloon. In the nationโ€™s Capitol, a news station tried to gauge support for the code. What shouldโ€™ve been a slam dunk in one of the countryโ€™s strictest gun control cities, the exact opposite happened.

Gun Control Praise

News outlets all covered the new MCC for firearm-related purchases. The Washington Post reported, โ€œVisa, Mastercard, AmEx to start categorizing gun shop sales,โ€ asserting the nationโ€™s major credit card companies all agreed to implement the new tracking code. Gun control advocates praised the news.

โ€œTodayโ€™s announcement is a critical first step towards giving banks and credit card companies the tools they need to recognize dangerous firearm purchasing trends,โ€ John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety,ย said.ย โ€œBut this is only the first step.โ€

Moms Demand Actionโ€™s Shannon Wattsย praisedย the announcement too. โ€œThese new merchant codes will help banks and financial institutions track suspicious and potentially illegal gun purchases.โ€

New Yorkโ€™s Democratic Attorney General Letitia Jamesย added,ย โ€œTodayโ€™s decision requiring credit cards to categorize gun sales is a big victory.โ€

One of the biggest cheerleaders for the new tracking code is Priscilla Sims Brown, president and CEO of New York-based Amalgamated Bank, the gun control advocacy bank that applied for the new code from ISO. โ€œWe won,โ€ Sims Brownย stated.

Survey Says?

Law-abiding Americans see it as nothing more than overreach, even though gun control schemers are praising the code. There has been no definition by the codeโ€™s backers as to what โ€œsuspicious activityโ€ means. No word on what the financial institutions will do with the information and what stores will specifically be coded. Americans see the ruse.

In Washington, D.C., FOX 5 Newsย polledย their audience on the new MCC. They asked, โ€œDo you think credit card companies should track gun sales?โ€ In a city that has some of the countryโ€™s most strict gun control laws, and whose citizens overwhelmingly vote for gun control-supportive politicians, the response was resoundingly clear.

All told, 75 percent of respondents voted โ€œNo.โ€ Thatโ€™s crystal clear. Americans understand the code isnโ€™t about safety at all.ย Itโ€™s about tracking them.

Credit Card Companies Pushed

The MCC announcement came at a pertinent time. The CEOs of major banks were grilled by lawmakers last week in Washington, D.C., over the issue. Bank CEOs from Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Truist Financial Corporation, U.S. Bancorp and PNC Financial allย faced questions,ย mostly dodged on answers and didnโ€™t deny the banksโ€™ consideration of implementing the code, while not outright dismissing the practice.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser provided only a vanilla acknowledgement while not saying the bank would reject using the code. โ€œWe respect the Second Amendment, as I said, we do not intend to use the code to restrict or limit any purchases or firearm sales by our credit card customers.โ€

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was similarly coy.

โ€œWe actually donโ€™t know what they use it for, and we donโ€™t want to be in the business of telling American citizens what they can do with their money. We understand your concerns over the issue,โ€ he told members of the Senate Banking Committee.

In a letter responding to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and several senators supportive of the new tracking code, American Express Executive Vice President Brett Loper wrote, โ€œWe require merchants who accept American Express cards to adhere to all applicable laws. Our policy has been, and will remain, that our customers are able to make legal firearm purchases using our Cards.โ€

The announcement of the new tracking code for sales at federally-licensed firearm retailers has given the countryโ€™s largest banks just enough wiggle room to avoid being specific. In most cases, they acknowledge the code was created and state they wonโ€™t use it to deny law-abiding Americans the ability to buy lawful firearms, or that those Americans would be flagged by authorities for โ€œsuspicious activity.โ€ Their answers are far from clear.

What is clear is that Americans do not support the tracking code. Even in a gun-control city like Washington, D.C.

 

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