Congressman goes after banks targeting Second Amendment
Congressman goes after banks targeting Second Amendment
By Don Shoopman
Daily Iberian
June 10th. 2018
Quote:
It was a red letter day Tuesday in Washington, where U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, bashed anti-Second Amendment policies enacted by Bank of America and Citigroup.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Kennedy said, “Citigroup and Bank of America have decided to make banking a red versus blue issue by trampling on the Second Amendment rights of small business owners.”
The junior senator from Louisiana, who was an adjunct professor 15 years at LSU’s law school, quickly is gaining a reputation on the Hill for speaking his mind and telling it like it is. It’s refreshing.
This past week he took issue with a March 22 announcement by Citigroup telling businesses what kind of firearms and accessories they can stock in their stores and who they can sell them to, noting it will penalize banking clients that otherwise follow federal, state and local laws. On April 10, Bank of America announced it will no longer loan money to businesses that manufacture semi-automatic rifles.
Perhaps those bankers need to be reminded the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted Dec. 15, 1791, as part of the first 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights.
Our Congressman intends to remind them. He’ll take the gloves off if necessary.
Noting big banks have turned their backs on taxpayers, Kennedy said, “Citigroup and Bank of America owe their continued existence to the generosity of the American taxpayer. Both Citigroup and Bank of America are considered by the U.S. government to be ‘systemically important banks.’ That’s why they got bailed out in 2009. They act as a source of credit for households, businesses and local and state governments, and as a source of liquidity for the entire banking system. ...”
He also said, “I want to make sure that the federal government isn’t rewarding their behavior with even more taxpayer dollars. I have already petitioned the General Services Administration to cancel the federal government’s $700 billion contract with Citigroup, and I have urged officials in the state of Louisiana to reevaluate state contracts with any Wall Street Bank that chooses to emplement an extralegal policy that infringes on the Second Amendment.”
Kennedy summed up his address by saying, “It is offensive that Wall Street banks are using taxpayer dollars with one hand, and using the other to come after America’s guns. Rather than impose its political agenda on law-abiding citizens, these Wall Street banks ought to remember how taxpayers spent billions to bail them out after the 2008 financial crisis. They owe a tremendous debt to the American public. It seems that they have a very short memory.”
Thank you, Congressman Kennedy, for speaking on behalf of the hundreds of law-abiding residents in the Teche Area who hunt ducks, deer, squirrels, rabbits and other wild animals with rifles and shotguns in the Sportsman’s Paradise.
:thumbup:
