Democrats failed this year to ban so-called ‘assault weapons’, so they are switching to their bullying tactics.
18 House Democrats just sent a letter to a finance company in Montana which makes it easier for people to buy guns, claiming that their gun-financing program may “increase gun violence” in America’s cities.
Here’s more via NBC News:
In recent years, more retailers have turned to “buy now, pay later” financing to help customers pay for goods and services.
Buy now, pay later, or BNPL, programs, which are typically offered interest-free, allow customers to pay for products in installments. The programs have proven especially popular with younger shoppers who can’t or don’t want to use credit cards to pay for their items.
Now, one BNPL firm has drawn the attention of Democrats for making it easier for consumers to use the payment plans to buy guns and ammunition.
On Monday, 18 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Credova Financial LLC, based in Bozeman, Montana, to express concern that its purchasing programs could worsen America’s gun violence problem. Lawmakers representing large cities, including New York, Boston and Houston, were among those who signed the letter.
“We are concerned that the ease with which buyers can acquire guns through BNPL will result in more guns and increased gun violence in our nation’s communities,” they wrote. They estimated that Credova has already partnered with nearly 70 gun merchants and noted that it claims “merchants who use Credova see up to 51% increase in overall sales volume.”
The lawmakers say that BNPL programs often entail only “soft” credit checks and that the installment payment options have become widely popular with younger consumers.
Among the representatives’ questions: What safeguards does Credova have in place to ensure firearms aren’t being purchased illegally or by people with criminal histories using the company’s services? Does Credova have information about whether guns bought through its BNPL program have been used to commit unlawful acts of violence? And how does Credova ensure that purchases of firearms meet state firearm purchase requirements?
This is ridiculous. It’s not the responsibility of Credova to care about who purchases a gun. That’s the job of the gun store and the feds, given that it’s their database that gets queried to approve gun purchases.
Once the purchase of a gun is approved, only then does the financing comes into play.
What Democrats are trying to do here is bully a company into putting in unnecessary safeguards that will prevent people from purchasing guns so easily, because they hate the 2nd amendment and gun ownership. It’s really that simple.
House Republicans should respond to this by sending a letter to Credova, telling them that they don’t have to change anything just because Democrats hate what they do and that they should stand firm in the face of this bullying campaign. They should also let them know that Republicans have their back.
By the way, the Democrats who signed this letter are Stephen F. Lynch, Alma Adams, Carolyn B. Maloney, Al Green, John B. Larson, Madeline Dean, Nikema Williams, Nydia M. Velazquez, Sheila Jackson Lee, Katie Porter, Sylvia R. Garcia, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Adriano Espaillat, Sean Casten, Barbara Lee, Dwight Evans, Emanuel Cleaver and Jerrold Nadler.