FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Sen. Steve Daines is set to introduce a bill Thursday afternoon to prohibit the federal government from using taxpayers’ funds to enter contracts with anti-Second Amendment companies.
“Democrats and woke corporations have proven over and over again that they want to carry out an unconstitutional, overreaching, gun-grabbing agenda, and under no circumstances should our federal government use taxpayer dollars for these efforts,” said Daines, R-Mont.
Daines’ Firearm Industry Non-Discrimination Act (FIND Act) would prevent corporations from benefiting from taxpayer-funded contracts and subcontracts while discriminating against firearms trade associations or businesses that sell firearms, ammunition, and the like.
“Doing business with anti-Second Amendment corporations erodes Americans’ trust and infringes on law-abiding citizens’ constitutional rights,” Daines said. “It must stop.”
Companies said to discriminate against gun owners include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Capital One, according to the American Accountability Foundation, a nonprofit government oversight and research group.
For instance, Bank of America has denied services to gun manufacturers, fossil-fuel producers, and contractors for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the Montana Attorney General’s Office.
Cosponsors of the FIND Act are Republican Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Rick Scott of Florida, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Jim Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Tim Sheehy of Montana, Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa, and Katie Britt of Alabama.
Daines previously introduced the bill in both the 117th and 118th Congress.
“The Second Amendment is ingrained in America and Idaho’s culture and way of life. If a business promotes anti-Second Amendment rhetoric, it should forfeit its right to gain a federal government contract,” Risch said of its 2023 introduction. “Through the Firearm Industry Non-Discrimination Act, the federal government would be prevented from awarding contracts to businesses that engage in that discrimination.”
