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How Banks Could Control Gun Sales if Washington Won’t In the aftermath of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 students and staff members — and at a time when Washington shows little interest in limiting the sales of assault weapons — there’s a real opportunity for the business community to fill the void and prove that all that talk about moral responsibility isn’t hollow. Here’s an idea. What if the finance industry — credit card companies like Visa, Mastercard and American Express; credit card processors like First Data; and banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo — were to effectively set new rules for the sales of guns in America? Collectively, they have more leverage over the gun industry than any lawmaker. And it wouldn’t be hard for them to take a stand. PayPal, Square, Stripe and Apple Pay announced years ago that they would not allow their services to be used for the sale of firearms. “We do not believe permitting the sale of firearms on our platform is consistent with our values or in the best interests of our customers,” a spokesman for Square told me. The big financial firms don’t even have to go that far. For example, Visa, which published a 71-page paper in 2016 espousing its “corporate responsibility,” could easily change its terms of service to say that it won’t do business with retailers that sell assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and bump stocks, which make semiautomatic rifles fire faster. (Even the NRA has said it would support tighter restrictions on bump stocks.) If Mastercard were to do the same, assault weapons would be eliminated from virtually every firearms store in America because otherwise the sellers would be cut off from the credit card system. There is precedent for credit card issuers to ban the purchase of completely legal products. Just this month, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America banned the use of their cards to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. To be clear: Those three banks won’t let you use your credit card to buy Bitcoin, but they will happily let you use it to buy an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle — the same kind of gun used in mass shootings in Parkland; Newtown, Conn.; San Bernardino, Calif.; Las Vegas; and Sutherland Springs, Tex. Visa, oddly enough, is the card of choice of the N.R.A.: There is actually an N.R.A.-branded Visa card issued by First Bankcard, a division of First National Bank of Omaha. And Mastercard proudly announced last year that it was the branded card for Cabela’s, an outdoor gear megastore with a seemingly limitless assault-weapon catalog. Visa spokesmen did not reply to several emails seeking comment. A spokesman for Mastercard sent a boilerplate statement that expressed “disgust with recent events, including last week in Florida.” “Our payments network is governed by standards that have been established over time,” the statement said. “Chief among these is that we do not and will not permit merchants to engage in unlawful activity on our network.” He said the company would continue to talk to customers and lawmakers about its policies. If Visa and Mastercard are unwilling to act on this issue, the credit card processors and banks that issue credit cards could try. Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, which issues credit cards and owns a payment processor, has talked about how he and his bank have “a moral obligation but also a deeply vested interest” in helping “solve pressing societal challenges.” This is your chance, Mr. Dimon. And here’s a variation on the same theme: What if the payment processing industry’s biggest customers — companies like McDonald’s, Starbucks, Apple, Amazon, AT&T, CVS and others that regularly talk about “social responsibility” — collectively pressured the industry to do it? There’s a chance that some of the payment processors would stop handling gun sales. Perhaps their voices would help push one of the banks to step out and lead?  Honesty is the best policy. |
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Trump said he wants teachers to carry gun to scare away shooters from campus, but how Trump to prevent the shootings at a music concert in Las Vegas, theater, shopping mall, ... and other open places? You can't predict where the next massacre will take place. Trump said he wants to prohibit to make "bump stock", but the bump stock used only happened in Las Vegas massacre, not in all other shooting. Trump wants to increase the age to 21 (instead of 18 ) to purchase assault weapons that does not help much for 3 years difference. How about NOT making and selling all assault weapons? I was shock to hear Trump said "NRA were "great people" who would "do the right thing." I couldn't believe my ears when Trump praised NRA after so many massacres happened in USA. Why Trump advocate "2nd Amendment"? How much NRA donated to Trump campaign? $30 millions. Is money more important than life? Honesty is the best policy.
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I don't like Trump said "NRA were “great people” who would “do the right thing,” I don't like Trump wants teachers carry guns in schools to defend from the killers' massacres. I can't image what will happen in schools. War zone? Why can't USA like other countries, no gun shops, no gun shows? Why can't we have "gun control"? Other countries have bipolar, maniac, and schizophrenia patients too, but they don't have "gun violence" in their countries. Because they can't obtain guns or machine guns, so there are no massacre. If mentally ill patients use knife to kill, they can't have massacre. It is all about "GUN". Trump, on the contrary, wants more guns in school to prevent shooting. I just can't see eye to eye with Trump on many things. Honesty is the best policy.
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