Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of letting a centralized bank control America because he knew that having one entity in control of finance and commerce presented a danger to liberty and freedom—a belief he once expressed in a letter to John Taylor of Caroline.
“I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is swindling futurity on a large scale.”
As Washington DC continues to pile trillions of dollars of new debt on the heads of our children and our children’s children, it’s easy to see that Jefferson was right. But there’s another, less obvious way that banks are threatening liberty in America, specifically regarding the Second Amendment.
A Bank of America executive announced yesterday that the bank will no longer do business with manufacturers of scary looking weapons—so-called “military-style” rifles—that are legally available to the public.
In an interview on Bloomberg TV, Bank of America Vice Chair Anne Finucane said the bank will no longer “underwrite or finance military military-style firearms” and has already informed several gun manufacturers that the bank will no longer do business with them. When asked if this decision meant that Bank of America would also stop doing business with retailers selling these weapons, Finucane hemmed and hawed about civil liberties and the Second Amendment, then stated that such a decision was “a ways off.”
It was just a few weeks ago that Citibank released a list of requirements to gun retailers in order for them to do business with the bank, including restricting firearm sales for those under 21 and banning “high-capacity” magazines. And in early March, VISA was petitioned to refuse processing credit card transactions for gun purchases. Fortunately, VISA refused the petition instead.
Though we don’t have an official “National Bank,” the Federal Reserve—the central bank of the US—is a defacto version of one, and every bank in America must play by their rules. How long will it be before we hear the Fed Chairman announce a new set of banking regulations like those we’ve seen from Bank of America and Citibank, particularly now that using the banks to deny gun rights is gaining in popularity with anti-gun zealots?
There will be those who will accuse me of spreading a new conspiracy theory, but I would remind them of recent comments made by Donald Trump to seize guns without due process and efforts by Congress to reintroduce a GOP version of Operation Chokepoint, and that candidates for federal office are including anti-Second Amendment positions in their platforms.
More dangerous than a standing army? Looks like Jefferson was on to something.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative. His politically incorrect and always “right” columns are featured on RedState.com, NOQReport.com, and TheResurgent.com.
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