Feds Unveil New Weapon in War on Guns

Operation Chokepoint

It is no secret that President Barack Obama and his acolytes in government despise the Second Amendment. Given the chance, they would outlaw private gun ownership completely.

Since that is unlikely while Republicans control Congress, the Obama Administration has come up with yet another way to gut the Second Amendment – by running ammo makers out of business.

It is called “Operation Choke Point” – a scheme sanctioned by Eric Holder’s Justice Department and hatched by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to list ammo makers alongside the porn industry, racist organizations and pay day lenders as “reputational risks” that should not have access to banks or banking services.

That means no checking accounts, no lines of credit and no access to credit card payments – a ruling that would put ammo sales at every level – from manufacturer, to wholesalers, to retailers to customers on a strictly cash basis – a crippling regulatory move based on the personal political views of FDIC regulators.

The revelation of this bureaucratic move, first reported by The Daily Signal, was contained in a 20-page investigative report released this past week by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

The report, based on an analysis of e-mails and confidential briefings available to House investigators, detailed “how the FDIC worked closely with the Justice Department to cut off the financial lifeblood of”…“industries the administration doesn’t like.”

The revelation that FDIC regulators were allowing their personal views about the Second Amendment and other lawful industries guide their advice to lenders behind closed doors has already sparked to congressional action.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., a member of the House Financial Services Committee, has introduced H.R. 4986 – End Operation Choke Point Act of 2014.

The legislation sheds sunshine on Operation Choke Point and if passed into law will “provide a safe harbor for the banks to be able to continue to have a longstanding relationship with a business that’s doing legal business” Luetkemeyer said.