Pro-gun activists were alerted to financial giant Citibank's refusal to do business with lawful manufacturers of firearms on Feb. 25, 2000, when the NRA-ILA Fax Alert confirmed that ILA had received a letter that stated, "Citibank's consumer business has a long-standing policy of not engaging in financial relationships with businesses that manufacture or sell . . . firearms." In response to this policy, Citicorp -- the parent company of Citibank -- was placed on NRA-ILA's anti-gun support fact sheet, and NRA members were asked to contact Citibank and voice their opinion on the policy. The result was a speedy change in policy. On March 8, Citibank spokesman Mark Rodgers told The Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Small businesses engaged in the manufacture or sale of small firearms will be evaluated in the same manner as any other small business...."
The anti-gun policy, he claimed, was a result of a series of buyouts and mergers that Citibank had participated in and needed to be clarified. After seeing reports of Citibank's anti-gun policy, Idaho Lt. Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter (R) and John Sandy (R), the state's Assistant Senate Majority Leader, introduced a resolution urging "state government to end business ties with contractors and service providers that discriminate against individuals and organizations lawfully exercising their Second Amendment rights." While Citibank has rescinded their policy, this incident clearly shows the need for gun owners to pay close attention to the policies of the companies in their communities.
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