In a major win for Second Amendment supporters, Citigroup has finally scrapped its restrictive banking policy targeting the firearm industry — a controversial stance it adopted in 2018 following the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
The move marks a significant shift away from the corporate virtue-signaling era under the previous administration. Citi had previously required business clients in the gun industry to follow arbitrary restrictions, such as refusing to sell firearms to law-abiding Americans under 21 and banning the sale of standard-capacity magazines and bump stocks — even though those decisions should be left to store owners and consumers, not banks.
At the time, Citi claimed the policy was about promoting “best practices.” But pro-gun Americans knew better: it was corporate pressure to push a political agenda. The result? Small businesses and firearms dealers — many of whom serve rural, patriotic communities — were boxed out of basic banking services simply for exercising their constitutional rights.
But now, under growing scrutiny and fresh leadership in Washington, the bank is walking it all back.
In a blog post Tuesday, Citi executive Ed Skyler admitted the bank is dropping its firearms-specific policy, noting that “many retailers have been following these best practices” anyway. In reality, the shift reflects mounting backlash against “debanking” — the practice of freezing out individuals and companies for political or ideological reasons.
White House spokesman Harrison Fields praised the move, saying: “President Trump is ushering in a wave of common sense, and it’s encouraging to see companies like Citi embrace this by ending their discriminatory policies against millions of law-abiding gun owners in America.”
Gun-control groups like March for Our Lives — founded by Parkland activists — quickly lashed out at Citi’s reversal. Executive Director Jackie Corin even accused the bank of “appeasing Donald Trump,” suggesting that protecting Americans’ rights was somehow a betrayal.
But while activists rage, millions of gun owners see this as long-overdue justice. After years of being treated like political pariahs by woke corporations, the tide is turning. President Trump has already called out the nation’s biggest banks over political discrimination, and now companies like Citi are scrambling to repair trust.
Citi has also promised to update its Code of Conduct to make it clear: political affiliation — like race or religion — won’t be a reason to deny banking services.
That’s how it should be. Gun ownership is a constitutionally protected right — not a political liability. And no bank should ever be allowed to decide who deserves access to financial services based on their respect for the Second Amendment.
Score one for freedom.
