Voters might decide whether banks can 'discriminate' against firearms companies

By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, Arizona Mirror 

Republicans want Arizona voters to decide if state agencies should be barred from working with any bank that “discriminates” against firearms companies or individuals who work in the firearms industry.

At issue are business decisions by financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase and CitiGroup, to stop working with firearms manufacturers in the wake of the mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school in 2018 that left 17 dead.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 1007 would change state law to prohibit any public entity from entering into a contract with a value of $100,000 or more with a company that does not agree to not “discriminate against a firearm entity or firearm trade association.” Companies would have to submit written affidavits stating they will comply.

The measure, which would have to be approved by voters in November, also states that discrimination also includes stopping any working relationship an entity may have with a firearm entity or firearm trade association.

“This is something I’ve been working on for the past 3 years,” Sen. Frank Carroll, R-Sun City West, the measure’s sponsor, told the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

Carroll sponsored the same legislation last year as a regular bill. Although it won approval from GOP lawmakers, the bill was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs. By structuring this year’s iteration as a ballot referral, it avoids Hobbs altogether. Instead, if it passes both legislative chambers, it will head directly to voters later this year.