Arizona House Punishes Banks That Refuse Business with Gun Firms

Arizona House of Representatives recently proposed a bill that would punish banks who refuse to work with gun firms. Banks that refuse to do business with the firearm industry will not receive contracts from government agencies. Arizona State Representative Quang Nguyen stated, “Why would [banks] not want to do business with a Second Amendment-related business?”. However, the banking industry lobbyists are resisting the bill claiming it is a dramatic overreach of government power. They claim the government is coercing private companies to do business with certain industries. When rather it should be up to the business owner’s judgment to do business with certain industries over others. This type of legislation threatens the independence of the banking industry.

There are many reasons why a bank may not want to do business with certain individuals or industries, however, it is outside of the government’s concern, assuming the bank does not breach any anti-discrimination laws. Banks should not be manipulated to do business with firearm companies, nor should the government exclusive give this kind of special treatment to a specific industry. This bill is said to be purely political, and supporters and opposers of this bill are torn down party lines.

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.