Major banks are cutting off business with the gun industry, roiling Republicans who want to respect the financial decisions of private institutions while still showing their unyielding support of the Second Amendment.
Some Republicans, enraged at moves by Citigroup and Bank of America to distance themselves from some retailers and gun manufacturers, have called on government agencies to cancel contracts with the banks and defer deregulation proposals that would benefit them. But other Republicans want to keep their hands off, saying lenders are free to decide who they do business with.
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It's a conundrum that puts the free-market principles at odds with gun rights, and Republicans across the board are genuinely split over how to react to moves by some of the biggest financial institutions in the country.
"I'm not writing a law that says you can't do it — I just think it's dumb and it's dangerous waters," Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) said. "I have a pretty high bar before I'm going to go in and tell the private sector what they should and shouldn't be doing."
Conservatives who have begun to speak out say it's justified given the fundamental role the government plays in allowing the giant banks to operate, including the massive bailouts that shored up their operations during the Wall Street meltdown a decade ago.
"It is a blurrier area," said Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the most senior lawmaker who has started to push back against the banks, which his powerful panel oversees.
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