TI News Brief: Gov’t Initiative “Operation Choke Point” Aimed at Closing Down all Gun Dealers

What Is Happening

I guess I’m not surprised anymore at the current administration’s obvious disdain for anyone (except their goons) being able to have firearms.

The latest anti-gun measure coming from the Dept of Justice is affectionately being called “Operation Choke Point” as detailed in The Daily Caller:

Operated under a cloud of secrecy by the Department of Justice and in coordination with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Operation Choke Point forces banks to keep a closer eye on companies in industries that are deemed “high risk”, including gun and ammunition dealers, coin dealers, payday lenders, and debt consolidation service providers.

What This Means to You

This may sound reasonable or benign since gun and ammunition dealers are just part of the mix with coin dealers, payday lenders, and others but in reality it has nothing to do with “high risk” in terms of the financial health of a company.

For example, Mark Cohen, who owns Powderhorn Outfitters, a Hyannis, Mass. gun retailer, said that his longtime bank, TD Bank, refused to extend a line of credit because of the business he is in.

It has nothing to do with his financials or that he is really a risk in any way, in fact Mark and his business have excellent credit and have been in business for over 20 years without so much as a missed payment.

“Our loan was turned not because of our credit — we had perfect financials and been working with the same bank manager for 20 years. It was just because we sell guns — and they said that to us specifically,” he said.

The Washington Times had reported the following about Operation Chokepoint:

Operation Choke Point has caught the attention of lawmakers in Congress, who have called for investigative hearings and potential legislation if the operation isn’t stopped.
…
The “extraordinary breadth of the [Justice] Department’s dragnet prompts concern that the true goal of Operation Choke Point is not to cut off actual fraudsters’ access to the financial system but rather to eliminate legal financial services to which the Department objects,” the congressmen said in their letter, of which The Washington Times has obtained a copy.

What You Should Do About It

TD Bank, who denied gun dealer Mark Cohen with a line of credit, was pretty surprised when Mark emailed his entire customer/contact mailing list as well as wrote a blog post for the website Northeast Shooters about what happened.

Because of that, hundreds (and growing) had closed their accounts with TD Bank and moved on to other banks more supportive of the Second Amendment. TD Bank had since tried patching things up with Mr. Cohen, but justifiably he wanted nothing to do with them:

“They want to kiss and make up, but it’s too little, too late,” Cohen said.

This should be an example for us all.

First off, if you do do business with TD Bank or another bank that is anti-Second Amendment, it’s time we take our business elsewhere…and tell others. If enough of us do this, they’ll be forced to push back against this administration.