The private sector's suppression of freedom isn't going unnoticed - or unpunished.
Via the Washington Times:
A Louisiana commission voted Thursday to block two banking giants from taking part in a new highway project, moving to punish the companies for gun control policies they adopted after the Parkland, Fla., school shooting this year.
Citigroup and Bank of America had said they would work only with retailers who agreed to new restrictions on gun purchases — rules stricter than what federal law requires.
Louisiana’s bond commission said it wouldn’t tolerate that kind of bullying over a constitutional right and voted 7-6 to block the companies from gaining a piece of the financing for a $600 million highway plan.
The vote was a win for pro-gun advocates looking to make inroads in a debate that is increasingly spilling into the corporate arena, and comes as major service companies and social media giants move to adopt anti-firearms policies.
“If you have zero respect for the U.S. Constitution, then you don’t need to do business with the state of Louisiana,” said Sen. John N. Kennedy, a Republican who cheered his state’s move from Washington.
Citibank in March announced it would work with retail clients only if they required background checks for gun purchases and curb sales, with some exceptions, to people under 21. Bank of America also announced after February’s Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that it would stop lending to clients that manufacture some styles of semiautomatic firearms...
Their moves were part of an overall pushback against guns in the wake of the shooting, which also saw companies cut ties to the National Rifle Association and consider divesting from gun companies...
Gun-rights backers say they’re being stymied by Facebook, which recently started blocking users from posting the blueprints, saying it violates its standards, which prohibit buying and selling guns and ammunition through the site.
Gun-rights advocates say the plans amount to information, not actual guns, and should be considered free speech.
“They’re just making [it] up as they go,” said Brandon Combs, who helps run a website offering 3D-printed gun blueprints, which Facebook banned users from sharing on its pages. “There’s nothing you can do … how could you possible play within the rules when they make [stuff] up?”
Mr. Combs, president of the California-based Firearms Policy Coalition, said the coalition has tried to contact Facebook “through multiple channels” to get an explanation.
A Facebook representative reiterated the company’s new policy in response to a reporter’s questions.
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