The New York Times: Banks Could Control Gun Sales if Washington Won’t

Jurisdictions that restrict gun sales, like Australia or Connecticut, soon experience fewer mass shootings, suicides and other shooting deaths. The United States has the highest rate of gun violence among developed nations, yet the National Rifle Association and Congress resist background checks and other controls. In the wake of a Florida school shooting that left 17 dead, Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times proposes that banks and other financial firms act on their own to reduce assault-weapons sales: “What if the finance industry … were to effectively set new rules for the sales of guns in America?” he writes. “PayPal, Square, Stripe and Apple Pay announced years ago that they would not allow their services to be used for the sale of firearms.” Credit card companies, changing their terms of service, could refuse to work with retailers that sell assault rifles or other equipment boosting firepower. Sorkin points to precedents for credit-card issuers blocking otherwise legal products. About 30 percent of US banks have 50 percent or more of their shares owned by foreigners. Retailers would resist being told how to run their business, and cash sales could present dangers, too. Citizens in democratic societies, confronting government inaction on a problem with obvious solutions, hunt for new ways to apply pressure. – YaleGlobal