The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Bank of America bans business with gun industry

Elker_43 · May 3, 2001, 08:48 PM

Thanks to SmithZ in giving the link, here is the latest:

http://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com

Its been less than a week. A very busy forty hours as tens of thousands of people have received, written and forwarded e-mails and e-mail links to this page and my dispute with BofA. In 40 hours I got calls from several newspapers from Oregon to Florida, several national gun magazines and local and national talk radio shows. 40 hours of irate gun owners and second-amendment supporters canceling their BofA credit cards, checking, and savings accounts; writing angry letters and making phone calls. Just 40 hours as some of the 83 million law-abiding gun owners expressed their outrage at such blatant discrimination. 40 hours to make the Bank of America behemoth jump!
I received a call at 10 AM this morning (5-3-01) , from Loraine Stinmel at Bank of America. She informed me that BofA is now drafting a new policy letter to the effect of "We do not as a policy discourage any merchant selling firearms from submitting an application for merchant services with us . . . we will not decline an application based on the gun industry itself." Who was responsible for the definitive statement "Bank of America does not offer merchant services to the gun industry," that Daniel (just following guidance from his superiors) used as a basis for refusing my application? BofA isn't saying. Loraine could only say "If we did this in the past, why? It doesn't make sense. . . We are not quite sure why this policy was distributed."

Whether it was an official national change to the Merchant Services Policy, as BofA told me, or an unwritten national corporate policy, or a BofA Arizona regional policy, or the individual prejudice of someone relatively high up in the BofA Arizona hierarchy, we may never know.

I do know is that this a great victory for gun owners!

1. Bank of America will not discriminate against the gun industry (either because its wrong, or because it hurts them financially - you decide).

2. Other businesses will take heed of the incredible influence of gun owners as a consumer block.

3. Gun owners got to see how fast their network of like-minded Americans can force change in even a huge corporation like BofA.

I have learned an important lessons that may be of value to other activists. Once I sent the first e-mail, it gained a life of its own - and I could not call it back. Passionate gun owners passed the message on to their networks with their own editorial comments. When further spread, the line between my original statements and the comments of people forwarding it became blurred. Some would only cut and paste what they considered the most important parts of my original message. Quickly, hundreds of versions of my message were out there. SINCE WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS - its absolutely imperative that activist notifications be accurate beyond reproach. If the anti-freedom pundits can find one minor technical error, they can capitalize on it and shed doubt on the accuracy of the entire message. While in my specific issue, I have not seen any messages coming back to me with bad information, I quickly realized the potential for problems. Thus this page of my website. I encourage others with activist issues to have a single, constantly-updated source that people can refer to both to verify that its not an internet hoax, and to obtain the most up-to-date information. Insure that a link to that webpage is included in all forwarded e-mails. I consider it a testament to the integrity of the gun culture that I received so many requests for authentication before the people were willing to take action or forward the message. Thank you. Thank you all for such incredible support.

A few issues still remain unresolved. At the time of this writing, I have not received a written copy of the new policy statement. I also have not learned who was responsible for the previous policy and if it was an individual, if there will be any disciplinary action.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who is Next?

(05-03-01)
Who is next? Airborne Express will not ship any firearms or firearms related products. I opened my Airborne Express account when UPS - unable to keep their employees from stealing guns - required all handgun shipments to go by Next Day Air at a 400+% price increase. Several months later, I learned that Airborne Express banned all guns and gun related products. Ironically, I received a query from ABNEX corporate office as to why I stopped shipping with them. When I advised them of their blatant discrimination against one of the most highly regulated industries in the country, I got some cheesy form letter back saying they would "take my comments into consideration."
Activism is a full-time job. I lost a week of work pursuing the BofA issue. I just don't have the time right now to go after Airborne Express. The $6000-$8000 I spend each year on out-going freight goes with other companies instead. Maybe Airborne Express needs a reminder of what a huge market share they lost and how simple it would be to regain it?

May 3, 2001, 08:48 PM	#25
Elker_43 Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 1999 Location: Idaho Posts: 489	Here is the latest! Thanks to SmithZ in giving the link, here is the latest: http://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com Its been less than a week. A very busy forty hours as tens of thousands of people have received, written and forwarded e-mails and e-mail links to this page and my dispute with BofA. In 40 hours I got calls from several newspapers from Oregon to Florida, several national gun magazines and local and national talk radio shows. 40 hours of irate gun owners and second-amendment supporters canceling their BofA credit cards, checking, and savings accounts; writing angry letters and making phone calls. Just 40 hours as some of the 83 million law-abiding gun owners expressed their outrage at such blatant discrimination. 40 hours to make the Bank of America behemoth jump! I received a call at 10 AM this morning (5-3-01) , from Loraine Stinmel at Bank of America. She informed me that BofA is now drafting a new policy letter to the effect of "We do not as a policy discourage any merchant selling firearms from submitting an application for merchant services with us . . . we will not decline an application based on the gun industry itself." Who was responsible for the definitive statement "Bank of America does not offer merchant services to the gun industry," that Daniel (just following guidance from his superiors) used as a basis for refusing my application? BofA isn't saying. Loraine could only say "If we did this in the past, why? It doesn't make sense. . . We are not quite sure why this policy was distributed." Whether it was an official national change to the Merchant Services Policy, as BofA told me, or an unwritten national corporate policy, or a BofA Arizona regional policy, or the individual prejudice of someone relatively high up in the BofA Arizona hierarchy, we may never know. I do know is that this a great victory for gun owners! 1. Bank of America will not discriminate against the gun industry (either because its wrong, or because it hurts them financially - you decide). 2. Other businesses will take heed of the incredible influence of gun owners as a consumer block. 3. Gun owners got to see how fast their network of like-minded Americans can force change in even a huge corporation like BofA. I have learned an important lessons that may be of value to other activists. Once I sent the first e-mail, it gained a life of its own - and I could not call it back. Passionate gun owners passed the message on to their networks with their own editorial comments. When further spread, the line between my original statements and the comments of people forwarding it became blurred. Some would only cut and paste what they considered the most important parts of my original message. Quickly, hundreds of versions of my message were out there. SINCE WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS - its absolutely imperative that activist notifications be accurate beyond reproach. If the anti-freedom pundits can find one minor technical error, they can capitalize on it and shed doubt on the accuracy of the entire message. While in my specific issue, I have not seen any messages coming back to me with bad information, I quickly realized the potential for problems. Thus this page of my website. I encourage others with activist issues to have a single, constantly-updated source that people can refer to both to verify that its not an internet hoax, and to obtain the most up-to-date information. Insure that a link to that webpage is included in all forwarded e-mails. I consider it a testament to the integrity of the gun culture that I received so many requests for authentication before the people were willing to take action or forward the message. Thank you. Thank you all for such incredible support. A few issues still remain unresolved. At the time of this writing, I have not received a written copy of the new policy statement. I also have not learned who was responsible for the previous policy and if it was an individual, if there will be any disciplinary action. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who is Next? (05-03-01) Who is next? Airborne Express will not ship any firearms or firearms related products. I opened my Airborne Express account when UPS - unable to keep their employees from stealing guns - required all handgun shipments to go by Next Day Air at a 400+% price increase. Several months later, I learned that Airborne Express banned all guns and gun related products. Ironically, I received a query from ABNEX corporate office as to why I stopped shipping with them. When I advised them of their blatant discrimination against one of the most highly regulated industries in the country, I got some cheesy form letter back saying they would "take my comments into consideration." Activism is a full-time job. I lost a week of work pursuing the BofA issue. I just don't have the time right now to go after Airborne Express. The $6000-$8000 I spend each year on out-going freight goes with other companies instead. Maybe Airborne Express needs a reminder of what a huge market share they lost and how simple it would be to regain it? __________________ To own firearms is to affirm that freedom and liberty are not gifts from the state. Winchesters Forever (Levers and Pumps 73s, 90s, 92s, 06s, 61s and 63s)