DEFEND 2A! New Bergman Bill Prohibits Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination Against the Firearm Industry
Washington,
March 8, 2022
Today, Rep. Jack Bergman (MI-01), alongside fifty-five of his colleagues, introduced the Firearm Industry Non-Discrimination (FIND) Act – a bill to fight back against “boardroom gun control” and protect our Second Amendment rights.
Large financial institutions and other corporations, many of whom benefit from federal contracts, have increasingly adopted policies designed to hurt the domestic firearm industry – from forcing restrictions on the products they can sell, to outright refusing to provide basic services. These policies have, in effect, restricted access to legal firearms well beyond the democratically-established firearm laws at the state and federal levels. To address this problem, the FIND Act would prevent any businesses that discriminate against firearm businesses or associations from contracting or subcontracting with the federal government – ensuring that federal funding is not used to further these harmful policies. Rep. Jack Bergman stated, “Taxpayer dollars should not benefit the bottom line of corporations actively working to erode our Second Amendment rights. While the federal government cannot and should not force mandates on the private marketplace, we must ensure we are responsibly spending tax dollars and holding those we do business with to a high standard. I’m proud to be joined by more than fifty of my fellow Members of Congress in introducing this important legislation.” This legislation is supported by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “This legislation is critical to ensuring ‘woke’ corporations don’t use their financial might, funded by taxpayers, to deny essential services to the firearm industry,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Corporations, in particular financial institutions, have been dictating public policies from boardrooms that throttle firearm businesses, which are Constitutionally protected. This bill will no longer allow those corporations to benefit from taxpayer dollars while at the same time using those funds to deny Americans their Second Amendment rights. We thank Congressman Bergman for his leadership to ensure fairness in business, reasserting Congress’s role in ensuring the federal government isn’t picking winners and losers in the marketplace based on politics, and protecting the ability of a lawful industry to compete for services without artificial and agenda-driven barriers.” “The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) applauds Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Member Rep. Bergman for introducing the FIND Act,” said CSF President and CEO Jeff Crane. “This legislation seeks to ensure that lawful manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and other entities associated with firearms and ammunition are not inappropriately discriminated against solely based on the type of business they are involved in.”
|
