Senate bill would bans firms that ‘discriminate’ against guns

The federal government would be prohibited from inking contracts with companies whose policies are said to discriminate against the firearms industry under a bill introduced last week by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.

The ”Firearm Industry Non-Discrimination Act” or FIND Act prohibits any taxpayer-funded federal contracts and subcontracts to firms that are found to be discriminating against firearm trade associations or businesses that deal in firearms, ammunition, or related products.

“Doing business with anti-Second Amendment corporations erodes Americans’ trust and infringes on law-abiding citizens’ Constitutional rights. It must stop,” Daines said in a press releasing announcing the legislation.

The bill attempts to enact on a federal level what several Republican states have ratified in state legislation, a prohibition on taxpayer-funded business with firms that are perceived as making decisions that discriminate against the firearms industry. Some of the state laws have led to underwriters being forced off of municipal bond deals.

The bills are part of a larger slate of legislation that targets firms that consider environmental, social or governance factors in their decisions.

The nonprofit oversight organization American Accountability Foundation identifies Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Capital One, as firms that discriminate against the gun industry.

It’s the third time that Daines has introduced the bill, but the first in a Republican-led Congress. The bill has gained 21 co-sponsors in the Senate, including Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

“For far too long, corporations have engaged in ‘boardroom gun control’ to force firearm businesses to adopt measures that would restrict Americans’ Second Amendment rights,” the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearm industry’s trade association said in a statement supporting the bill. “Corporations are free to hold these anti-Second Amendment policies if they choose but would forfeit access to lucrative federal contracts.”