After Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio sent a letter to the State Department requesting they conduct a review and coordination effort to revoke the visas of those who have endorsed or espoused Hamas’ terrorist activity on U.S. soil, the State Department admitted in a return letter they indeed had the authority to revoke those visas.
The State Department took a full month to respond as Rubio had sent his letter on October 15 and their response was dated November 15.
“As you are aware, the Secretary of State designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act on October 8, 1997,” the State Department acknowledged. “Our first priority when adjudicating visa applications is to ensure applicants do not pose a security risk to the United States. Every prospective traveler to the United States undergoes extensive security screening. This screening draws on information from the full range of U.S. government agencies, including biographic and biometric screening against U.S. law enforcement and counterterrorism databases. No visa is issued until all concerns raised by the screening process are fully resolved.”
Then the State Department admitted, “The Department of State also has broad authority under the INA to revoke visas. We exercise that authority when there is information or evidence indicating a visa holder may be ineligible for a U.S. visa. When we receive derogatory information that indicates potential visa ineligibility, we take immediate actions, such as entering the information into U.S. government databases and revoking visas if deemed appropriate.”
“State Department confirms they have the power to revoke the visas of Hamas supporters and deport them. Now they need to do it,” Rubio tweeted upon receipt of the letter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
State Department confirms they have the power to revoke the visas of Hamas supporters and deport them. Now they need to do it. <a href="https://t.co/vCXyKufhad">pic.twitter.com/vCXyKufhad</a>
&mdash; Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1724943837343219866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At the end of October, FBI Director Christopher Wray <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/hamas-attack-galvanizing-terror-groups-worldwide-warn-us-officials/7335141.html">warned</a> that the Israel-Hamas war had raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a higher level, telling the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, “We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven&#8217;t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago. &#8230; In just the past few weeks, multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West.”
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Christine Abizaid said the war was being utilized as “a feature of messaging and propaganda” from various terror groups, adding, “We&#8217;ve seen it from al-Qaida affiliates, almost every single one. We&#8217;ve also seen it from ISIS, which ideologically isn&#8217;t aligned with a group like Hamas, but is still leveraging this current conflict. They are seeking to capitalize on this moment to galvanize supporters and organize further attacks.”

Marco Rubio

Rubio Gets State Department To Admit They Can Revoke Visas Of Hamas Supporters In U.S.

Hamas

State Department

Visa

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jd-vance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J.D. Vance</a> (R-OH) is introducing legislation to crack down on illegal visa overstays — and it&#8217;s about time.
Consider that the 9/11 Commission <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-visa-loophole-thats-been-open-since-911/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommended</a> that the U.S. should focus on the prevention of visa overstays to protect national security. And yet, nearly 22 years later, hundreds of thousands of individuals still take advantage of America&#8217;s visa system.
&#8220;America is a welcoming nation, but we are also a nation of laws,” Vance said in a statement sent to The Daily Wire. &#8220;There are millions of people in this country who have abused our visa system and circumvented our legal immigration process.&#8221;
To help stop this problem, Vance is introducing  the &#8220;Timely Departure Act.&#8221; Under this bill, foreigners who enter the U.S. under the visa program would be required to deposit up to $15,000 to the Department of Homeland Security prior to entering the country. If they exit the country in the required amount of time, they would be given that money back. However, if they fail to leave, then the money is put into an account that can &#8220;only be used to fund the detention and removal of illegal aliens.&#8221;
&#8220;It is a slap in the face to the working-class Ohioans whose wages are suffering &#8212; I will not stand for it,&#8221; Vance said of those who take advantage of America&#8217;s immigration system. &#8220;I’m proud to introduce this legislation and bring some sanity to our broken immigration system.&#8221;
According to a <a href="https://www.fairus.org/blog/2023/06/30/new-report-highlights-visa-overstays" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent report</a> from DHS, there were 853,955 overstays in fiscal year 2022. And that&#8217;s on top of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, who illegally crossed the southern border.
Jessica Vaughn of the Center for Immigration Studies noted in 2022 that visa overstays &#8220;are a significant contributor to our nation&#8217;s illegal immigration problem.&#8221;
Vaughan told The Washington Examiner,  &#8220;ICE should be directed to expand enforcement programs that target overstays. Laws should be tweaked to impose the same penalties for overstayers as illegal border crossers.&#8221;
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&#8220;Congress should continue to press DHS to build the biometric entry-exit system that will help maintain the integrity of the visa programs,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/record-16-8-million-illegal-immigrants-cost-us-163-billion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
Maybe DHS can use some of the funds scrounged up thanks to Vance&#8217;s bill, should it ever become law.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

JD Vance

Time To End Immigrant Visa Overstay Abuse, U.S. Senator Says. Here’s His Plan To Fix It.

Time To End Immigrant Visa Overstay Abuse, U.S. Senator Says. Here's His Plan To Fix It.

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Ohio

U.S.

After gun control advocates persuaded credit card companies to use a new merchant category code (MCC) to help track gun purchases, gun advocates fought back and got the credit card companies to back down.
At the end of August 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, and trustees of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, and Board of Education Retirement System <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/630-22/mayor-adams-comptroller-lander-pension-trustees-other-elected-leaders-call-credit-card#/0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> American Express, MasterCard, and Visa to support establishing a merchant category code (MCC) for gun and ammunition stores.
In September 2022, Amalgamated Bank announced its application to the International Standards Organization for a new merchant category code (MCC) for gun and ammunition stores had been approved.
“We all have to do our part to stop gun violence,” Priscilla Sims Brown, the president and CEO of Amalgamated Bank, <a href="https://amalgamatedbank.com/news/amalgamated-bank-petition-new-code-gun-and-ammunition-stores-has-been-approved-international" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated.</a> “And it sometimes starts with illegal purchases of guns and ammunition. The new code will allow us to fully comply with our duty to report suspicious activity and illegal gun sales to authorities without blocking or impeding legal gun sales. This action answers the call of millions of Americans who want safety from gun violence and we are proud to have led the broad coalition of advocates, shareholders, and elected officials that achieved this historic outcome.”
The same month, 24 attorneys general from around the nation, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, sent a <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MTAG/2022/09/20/file_attachments/2274582/Second%20Amendment%20&amp;%20ISO%20Merchant%20Code%20Multistate%20Letter%20%28Final%202%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the CEOs of American Express, Mastercard, and Visa, stating:
<blockquote>
As Attorneys General, we have the privilege of protecting our citizens from corporate coordination that hurts consumers. We are also charged with ensuring that consumer data is not unlawfully gathered or used. &#8230; Be advised that we will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to protect our citizens and consumers from unlawful attempts to undermine their constitutional rights. Please keep that in mind as you consider whether to proceed with adopting and implementing this Merchant Category Code.
</blockquote>
But now, the credit card companies have backed down. Reason Magazine’s J.D. Tuccile <a href="https://reason.com/2023/03/13/credit-cards-pause-efforts-to-track-gun-purchases-after-pushback/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that a Discover representative emailed him, “To continue alignment and interoperability with the industry, Discover is removing the new merchant category code identified as MCC 5723 from our April 23.1 Network Release.”
A MasterCard representative added, “Today, there are bills advancing in several states related to the use of this new code. If passed, the result will be an inconsistency in how this ISO standard could be applied by merchants, issuers, acquirers and networks. It&#8217;s for that reason that we have decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC.”
Visa and American Express are also <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-09/visa-mastercard-pause-work-on-code-aimed-at-gun-purchases?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery&amp;leadSource=uverify%20wall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly pausing</a> the implementation of the MCC.

Fireworks For Sale Ahead Of The July 4th Holiday

Credit Card Companies Were Ready To Track Gun Purchases. Gun Advocates Got Them To Back Down.

American Express

Discover

Gun Control

Mastercard

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/visa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visa</a> and Mastercard paused plans to track gun and ammunition purchases after receiving blowback to the plan from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gun-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gun rights</a> advocates and supporters.
The payment processors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/visa-to-categorize-sales-at-gun-stores-in-win-for-gun-control-advocates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last year that they would adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s new merchant category code that could be used to better track gun and ammunition purchases from gun stores. The move riled gun rights supporters and provoked Republican lawmakers and attorneys general to take action against the payment processors.
Visa, the world’s largest payment processor, and Mastercard are now pausing adoption of the new code after the stiff opposition and in the face of several states moving forward with legislation that would block such tracking, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-09/visa-mastercard-pause-work-on-code-aimed-at-gun-purchases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>.
“There are bills advancing in several states related to the use of this new code. If passed, the result will be an inconsistency in how this ISO standard could be applied by merchants, issuers, acquirers and networks,” a spokesman for Visa told Bloomberg. “It’s for that reason that we have decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC.”
Second Amendment supporters hailed the announcement as a victory for gun rights.
“Well done, it’s about time. US companies should not be taking orders from international NGOs to target legal industries,” <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorHagerty/status/1633866528125747209" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN). “This politicization of our financial sector must stop.”
Nearly two dozen GOP attorneys general sent a letter to Visa, Mastercard, and American Express in September over plans to adopt the new code and track gun and ammo purchases. The state prosecutors warned the companies that such tracking could be used to infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights
“Categorizing the constitutionally protected right to purchase firearms unfairly singles out law-abiding merchants and consumers alike,” the attorneys general <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/23-republican-ags-warn-credit-card-companies-to-abandon-plan-to-identify-gun-sales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “We will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to protect our citizens and consumers from unlawful attempts to undermine their constitutional rights.”
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Republicans in Congress <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-100-house-republicans-demand-answers-from-credit-card-giants-categorizing-sales-at-gun-stores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed</a> similar concerns. They said that the new code could be a workaround to creating a gun registry monitored by private corporations instead of by the federal government.
The credit card companies moved to adopt the code after facing pressure from Democrats who said that tracking gun purchases could cut down on mass shootings.
“Credit card companies like @Visa, @Mastercard, and @AmericanExpress can and should do more to help stop mass shootings,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tweeted on September 6, adding that she is “urging these companies to step up and help identify suspicious purchases to prevent gun violence.”

Gun Store

Visa, Mastercard Suspend Plans To Track Gun Purchases After Blowback

General

Gun Rights

Second Amendment

The state of Florida issued a forceful response Wednesday to credit card companies that want to start tracking gun and ammunition sales, saying that if they proceed that the state will pass a law punishing those companies.
Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have reportedly decided to separately categorize firearm purchases at gun stores in a move that was praised by far-Left gun control advocates.
The credit card companies adopted the new Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) after they were set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis issued a strong <a href="https://www.myfloridacfo.com/news/newsletter/archive/news-details/2022/09/21/cfo-jimmy-patronis-florida-will-act-against-credit-card-companies-who-target-the-2nd-amendment">statement</a> warning that if the companies proceed with their plans that they will face penalties from the state of Florida.
&#8220;The second amendment is foundational to our American way of life,&#8221; Patronis said. &#8220;The idea that law-abiding Americans would be put on some kind of corporate watchlist is disturbing. Our rights come from our Creator, not the government, and especially not big corporations. It is clear that the actions by these credit card companies are part of a larger effort to curtail God-given constitutional rights of Americans. It is also symptomatic of the virus known as ESG, which is part of a global effort to socially re-engineer the country that we love so much. There is no way we are going to allow that to happen in the free state of Florida.&#8221;
&#8220;If we come to the legislative session and companies like Visa, Mastercard and American Express are generating these reports to create a chilling effect against the purchase of firearms, then I’ll work with the Legislature to pass a law penalizing businesses who are targeting the right to bear arms,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We’ve seen a groundbreaking ruling come out of the Fifth Circuit limiting corporations’ ability to curtail American’s constitutional rights, so we are on solid legal footing to pursue a bill protecting Floridians 2nd Amendment Rights. We can also take it a step further by barring these companies from doing any business with the State of Florida. We will send a message out to these large corporations that if you are interested in doing business with Florida, you need to make sure that you’re protecting Floridians right to arm and defend themselves.&#8221;
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-100-house-republicans-demand-answers-from-credit-card-giants-categorizing-sales-at-gun-stores">More Than 100 House Republicans Demand Answers From Credit Card Giants Categorizing Sales At Gun Stores</a>

Governor DeSantis Orlando theme parks roundtable

Florida Issues Forceful Response To Credit Card Companies That Want To Track Gun And Ammo Sales

Florida

The Republican attorneys general of 23 states are expected to send a letter Tuesday opposing plans by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to add a new code to identify gun purchases made at firearm retailers.
“Categorizing the constitutionally protected right to purchase firearms unfairly singles out law-abiding merchants and consumers alike,” a draft of the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/visa-mastercard-amex-face-calls-from-gop-attorneys-general-to-abandon-gun-shop-code-11663674954" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> reads, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“We will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to protect our citizens and consumers from unlawful attempts to undermine their constitutional rights,” it added.
The letter is led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudson, according to the report.
The attorneys general of California and New York recently sent letters to the three companies to encourage the new categorization of gun purchases. The request came after the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-scotus-strikes-down-new-york-concealed-carry-restrictions-restrictions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struck down</a> a New York law in June that included unconstitutional requirements for issuing concealed-carry permits.
Tuesday&#8217;s letter adds to a letter from more than 100 House Republicans last week demanding answers from major credit card companies over the controversial decision to separately categorize gun sales.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-100-house-republicans-demand-answers-from-credit-card-giants-categorizing-sales-at-gun-stores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, House GOP leaders also sent <a href="https://stefanik.house.gov/_cache/files/3/2/327afb2a-664b-41dc-ba6c-ce0f93af68ad/B339C19813330E1FBB3AD3B51FA773F2.rep.-stefanik-letter-to-visa.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letters</a> to the CEOs of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) led the effort to demand that the companies answer questions about their decision to adopt new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/visa-to-categorize-sales-at-gun-stores-in-win-for-gun-control-advocates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merchant Category Codes</a> (MCCs) set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The House letter sought details regarding the prospective standards and questioned whether categorizing gun purchases and flagging law enforcement was an attempt to skirt federal law by effectively creating a gun registry.
“As you know, the ISO uses four-digit codes known as MCCs to classify merchants and businesses by the type of goods or services provided,” the letter said. “There were already two MCCs that captured legal firearm sales, 5999 for Miscellaneous Retail Stores and 5941 for Sporting Goods Stores.”
Visa that revealed plans on September 10 for the company to join Mastercard and American Express in the move to separately categorize gun purchases.
Gun rights advocates see the move as an erosion of Second Amendment rights.
“The [industry’s] decision to create a firearm specific code is nothing more than a capitulation to anti-gun politicians and activists bent on eroding the rights of law-abiding Americans one transaction at a time,” said National Rifle Association spokesman Lars Dalseide, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-violence-shootings-new-york-city-politics-4aae50c67e40f9683f604a8683acc391" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the Associated Press.
Many Democratic lawmakers, however, have supported the new categorization, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean. &#8220;Credit card companies like @Visa, @Mastercard, and @AmericanExpress can and should do more to help stop mass shootings. @RepDean and I are urging these companies to step up and help identify suspicious purchases to prevent gun violence,&#8221; Warren tweeted earlier this month.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Credit card companies like <a href="https://twitter.com/Visa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Visa</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Mastercard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mastercard</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/AmericanExpress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmericanExpress</a> can and should do more to help stop mass shootings.<a href="https://twitter.com/RepDean?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepDean</a> and I are urging these companies to step up and help identify suspicious purchases to prevent gun violence.<a href="https://t.co/kkqsYxpmzd">https://t.co/kkqsYxpmzd</a>
&mdash; Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1567214955690135552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Fictitious firearms hanging on the wall of a gun store. 3D rendering.

23 Republican AGs Warn Credit Card Companies To Abandon Plan To Identify Gun Sales

Attorney General

Left-wing activism on the part of corporations has hardly been unusual in recent years. What often flies under the radar, however, is how frequently progressive groups are able to strong-arm private businesses into entering the arena of politics against their will. Credit card companies being forced to track the sales of guns and ammunition is just such a situation.
After years of gun control measures failing at the ballot box and the Supreme Court, Amalgamated Bank — the largest union-owned bank in the country — hit upon a way to end-run around voters and the Constitution.
Billing the company as the nation’s most socially-responsible bank, its CEO Priscilla Sims Brown began lobbying the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to create a four-digit merchant code to track the sale of guns and ammunition purchased on credit. As a global standards body, the Geneva-based ISO has no authority to make laws or enforce regulations. But like many other American industries, the financial services sector willingly allows the group to set policies for their business.
When Brown first made her request to ISO in July 2021, arguing that it’s necessary to stop mass shootings and crack down on gun trafficking, the credit card companies pushed back. As part of an advisory committee on ISO’s decision, American Express argued that employing a specific merchant code in such a narrow retail category would be too difficult. &#8220;Managing long lists of narrowly defined MCCs can become burdensome if there isn&#8217;t a compelling reason for the long list,” Amex wrote. To the company&#8217;s point, while most retail items like groceries and other common goods have merchant codes, they tend to be broad. Before this, for instance, gun sales were simply classified under sporting goods.
MasterCard acknowledged to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bank-credit-cards-suspect-gun-ammo-sales/">CBS</a> at the time that the company “[believes] that it is the responsibility of elected officials to enact meaningful policies to address the issue of gun violence.&#8221; In other words, MasterCard felt the question of whether it is appropriate to track gun purchases properly belongs to the legislators, accountable to the will of the people, rather than an unelected global administrative state.
Amalgamated’s petition was denied.
Yet Brown wasn&#8217;t done. She appealed the decision in February, but was again denied because the code would only apply to small stores that specifically deal in firearms and ammunitions. It wouldn’t capture guns and ammunition purchases at general retailers like Walmart or big sporting goods chains like Dick&#8217;s, placing an undue burden on small venders.
Running a financial institution backed by the SEIU and Workers United, Brown is in a better position than most executives to understand how to ratchet up pressure to achieve desired political outcomes. She went back to ISO a third time after giving <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/business/dealbook/gun-violence-amalgamated-bank-code.html">numerous</a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bank-credit-cards-suspect-gun-ammo-sales/">media</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/07/14/amalgamated-ceo-on-tackling-gun-reform-track-gun-purchases-through-merchant-codes.html">interviews</a> and soliciting support from the anti-Second-Amendment group, Guns Down America, as well as Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and around 40 Congressional Democrats, who sent a letter to the credit card companies urging them to back Brown’s request.
MasterCard and Visa once again made it clear that they did not back the measure, with Visa saying in a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/credit-card-sales-of-guns-and-ammo-merchant-codes/">response</a> to Democrats, “We believe that asking payment networks to serve as a moral authority by deciding which legal goods can or cannot be purchased sets a dangerous precedent.”
This time, however, the pleas of the financial services giants fell on deaf ears. On September 9, ISO agreed to create the new merchant category code.
The issues critics, including the credit card companies themselves, have brought up regarding the gun purchase code have not disappeared — only purchases at mom and pop gun dealers will be tracked and the Democratic process had no hand in the decision. Visa went so far as to post a statement to its web site on September 13, registering its disagreement with the decision. &#8220;It would be an invasion of consumers’ privacy for banks and payment networks to know each of our most personal purchasing habits. Visa is firmly against this,&#8221; it stated.
Yet the company, along with MasterCard, Amex, and Discovery, says it plans to abide by ISO’s ruling, though the body holds no power over them.
Republicans are beginning to mount a response to what they say could easily become a national gun registry.
“I mean, obviously, [the credit card companies] have been pressured to do this,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told The Daily Wire. “We do know that there have been Wall Street banks that have not been willing to provide financial services to people in the firearm industry — that is not anything new. That says to me, this is just one more data point in a direction of a lot of very powerful financial institutions wanting to do indirectly what elected Democrats have not been able to do directly, in terms of in terms of restricting the firearms industry.”
A group of 100 House Republicans, led by New York’s Elise Stefanik, have sent letters to Mastercard, American Express and Visa seeking information about their reported decision to begin implementing the tracking codes. &#8220;Of course, there is no accepted, consistent, scientific, or legitimate way to determine from this date what is and what is not a ‘suspicious’ purchase,&#8221; the letter read. &#8220;A gun control advocate could view any desire to own or obtain a firearm as per se suspicious. Instead, this is a transparent attempt to chill the exercise of constitutionally protected rights and to circumvent existing legal restrictions on the creation of firearm registries by the government.&#8221;
The NRA too, is pushing back, saying in a statement, “Implying that firearm purchases are suspicious demonstrates an obvious bias these attorneys general hold against choosing to exercise a fundamental constitutional right.”
What the history of corporate politics demonstrates, though, is just how difficult it is to get companies to reverse course, even when they’re headed in a direction they clearly don’t want to go.

Credit card detail photo focused on raised printed numbers

How The Left Is Forcing Credit Card Companies To Become Anti-Gun Activists

Banks

Gun Sales

Leftists

Readers Pass

Wall Street

More than 100 House Republicans are demanding answers from major credit card companies over the controversial decision to categorize <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/guns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gun</a> sales.
In <a href="https://stefanik.house.gov/_cache/files/3/2/327afb2a-664b-41dc-ba6c-ce0f93af68ad/B339C19813330E1FBB3AD3B51FA773F2.rep.-stefanik-letter-to-visa.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letters</a> to the CEOs of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and House Republicans demanded the companies answer questions about their decision to adopt new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/visa-to-categorize-sales-at-gun-stores-in-win-for-gun-control-advocates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merchant Category Codes</a> (MCCs) set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that would categorize gun purchases separately from other purchases. The Republican members asked the creditors to provide their prospective standards to the public, and questioned whether categorizing gun purchases and flagging law enforcement was an attempt to skirt federal law by effectively creating a gun registry.
&#8220;As you know, the ISO uses four-digit codes known as MCCs to classify merchants and businesses by the type of goods or services provided,&#8221; the members began. &#8220;There were already two MCCs that captured legal firearm sales, 5999 for Miscellaneous Retail Stores and 5941 for Sporting Goods Stores.&#8221;
In July 2021, the left-wing activist banking firm Amalgamated Bank applied for the ISO to adopt a separate Category Code for firearm dealers. The ISO rejected the application in October, along with an appeal filed in November 2021, the Republican members noted. The ISO said at the time that such a narrow category would fail to capture gun sales at sporting goods stores and would place an undue burden on small firearm retailers.
Both Visa and American Express raised concerns about the effort to establish a firearm-specific MCC. &#8220;Specific MCC [codes] in narrow [retail] areas are challenging,&#8221; an employee from American Express told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/credit-card-companies-gun-sales-congress-letters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a> in September. &#8220;Managing long lists of narrowly defined MCCs can become burdensome if there isn&#8217;t a compelling reason for the long list.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/credit-card-sales-of-guns-and-ammo-merchant-codes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visa</a> also urged caution, warning against financial institutions acting as moral arbiters. &#8220;We believe that asking payment networks to serve as a moral authority by deciding which legal goods can or cannot be purchased sets a dangerous precedent,&#8221; the company wrote in a letter to Congressional Democrats who pushed for the credit card companies to adopt the new standard, via CBS.
Amalgamated Bank reapplied for the new MCC in June of this year. This time, the ISO relented, adopting the new MCC. Amalgamated Bank subsequently &#8220;stated its intent to utilize software to flag allegedly suspicious purchases made by Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights and file these red flags with law enforcement,&#8221; the lawmakers noted. &#8220;Of course, there is no accepted, consistent, scientific, or legitimate way to determine from this data what is and what is not a &#8216;suspicious&#8217; purchase. A gun control advocate could view any desire to own or obtain a firearm as per se suspicious. Instead, this is a transparent attempt to chill the exercise of constitutionally protected rights and to circumvent existing legal restrictions on the creation of firearm registries by the government.&#8221;
The lawmakers then asked the credit card giants to answer questions about their intentions in adopting the new standards:
<ul>
<li>Whether the companies actually support the ISO&#8217;s decision to create the new MCC, and if so, why the companies changed their view.</li>
<li>What criteria the companies will use to flag transactions for suspicious activity; how these criteria were devised, and what evidence there is to show that they will only focus on criminal intent and not on lawful purchases; and whether the companies will make these criteria public and share them with their cardholders.</li>
<li>How the companies will inform users about the impacts of implementing the policy; and whether they will notify and solicit feedback from customers.</li>
<li>Whether the companies will notify customers when their lawful transactions have been flagged and sent to law enforcement; if not, why they believe that it is not important to notify the customer.</li>
<li>Whether the companies have considered the &#8220;reputational risks and the possible implications for your 
fiduciary duties to shareholders&#8221; of potentially alienating a sizable number of the 100 million gun owners in the United States and the millions of prospective and potential gun buyers.</li>
<li>If the companies are aware this move could be perceived as an attempt to circumvent federal law by effectively creating a national firearm registry.</li>
<li>Whether the companies solicited input from the firearm industry before making this decision.</li>
<li>Whether the companies did their due diligence, including considering DOJ statistics, which show that a very small percentage of those who commit crimes with guns purchase them at gun stores subject to the new rules.</li>
</ul>
A total of 101 House Republicans signed the letter.

Elise Stefanik

Stefanik, More Than 100 House Republicans Demand Answers From Credit Card Giants Categorizing Sales At Gun Stores

House Republicans

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/visa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visa</a> announced Saturday that the world’s largest payment processing corporation will begin separately categorizing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/guns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">firearm</a> purchases at gun stores.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gun-control" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gun control</a> activists have encouraged the decision, claiming it will allow for easier tracking of gun sales and help prevent mass shootings, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-violence-shootings-new-york-city-politics-4aae50c67e40f9683f604a8683acc391" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Second Amendment proponents, however, see the move as a dangerous encroachment on legal firearm sales.
“The (industry&#8217;s) decision to create a firearm specific code is nothing more than a capitulation to anti-gun politicians and activists bent on eroding the rights of law-abiding Americans one transaction at a time,” said National Rifle Association spokesman Lars Dalseide.
Visa’s decision will allow banks to make decisions with enhanced information on whether they will allow purchases at gun shops on their cards. The move could also cause other corporations like Mastercard and American Express to adopt a similar policy, the AP reported. The payment processing company, however, claimed that it will continue to “protect” the legal selling and purchasing of goods on its network.
“Following ISO’s decision to establish a new merchant category code, Visa will proceed with next steps, while ensuring we protect all legal commerce on the Visa network in accordance with our long-standing rules,” Visa said in a statement.
Earlier this week leftist Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said credit card companies have an obligation to work harder toward stopping mass shootings.
“Credit card companies like @Visa, @Mastercard, and @AmericanExpress can and should do more to help stop mass shootings,” Warren tweeted. “[Rep. Madeleine Dean] and I are urging these companies to step up and help identify suspicious purchases to prevent gun violence.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Credit card companies like <a href="https://twitter.com/Visa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Visa</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Mastercard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mastercard</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/AmericanExpress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmericanExpress</a> can and should do more to help stop mass shootings.<a href="https://twitter.com/RepDean?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepDean</a> and I are urging these companies to step up and help identify suspicious purchases to prevent gun violence.<a href="https://t.co/kkqsYxpmzd">https://t.co/kkqsYxpmzd</a>
&mdash; Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1567214955690135552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The two lawmakers authored a letter, which was signed by more than 12 other Democrats, urging credit card companies to more closely track gun sales. &#8220;The creation of a new [merchant category code] for gun and ammunition retail stores would be the first step towards facilitating the collection of valuable financial data that could help law enforcement in countering the financing of terrorism efforts,&#8221; the letter read.

Visa To Categorize Sales At Gun Stores In Win For Gun Control Advocates

Elizabeth Warren

Guns

Social Issues

Instagram has removed Pornhub’s account on the social media platform following “mounting evidence” of alleged criminality stacked against the online adult entertainment company, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) told The Daily Wire in an emailed statement.
Dawn Hawkins, CEO of NCOSE, which has been exposing links between all forms of sexual exploitation and the public health harms of pornography since 1962, said Instagram made the right move by suspending Pornhub from its platform “for violating its community standards given the increasing reports of Pornhub hosting child sexual abuse material, sex trafficking, filmed rape, and non-consensual videos and images.”
“Instagram served as a distribution partner with this criminal enterprise, helping to push millions to their website, including children,” Hawkins said.
Pornhub had over 13 million followers on Instagram before the social media platform shut down the account.
While the account shared non-pornographic images and videos, Hawkins said it allegedly posted and promoted sexually graphic pornographic content while encouraging its audience through videos like “Next Career Goal” to become a performer.
Hawkins, who accused Instagram of endorsing the online adult entertainment giant by verifying the page with a “blue check” despite alleged evidence of illegal activity against children and adults, applauded the social media platform for taking down the site’s account on its platform.
“Instagram is courageously choosing to stop partnering with Pornhub, and it is time for all corporate entities to follow its example,” Hawkins said.
Variety <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/instagram-bans-pornhub-account-removed-1235359364/#article-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> that Instagram’s parent company, Meta, did not respond to a request for comment.
Pornhub has recently come under fire after both Visa and Mastercard cut off payment privileges with MindGeek, the site’s parent company, and its advertising arm, TrafficJunky. The move from the payment processing companies followed a federal judge ruling last month that it was reasonable to conclude Visa knowingly ‘intended to help monetize child pornography’ on Pornhub and other sites operated by MindGeek in the Fleites v. MindGeek lawsuit.
Plaintiff Serena Fleites filed the lawsuit last year, alleging MindGeek violated federal sex trafficking and child pornography laws. Such violations led credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard to suspend processing payments on Pornhub following a New York Times report revealing illegal content on its website.
Fleites alleges a former boyfriend pressured her into making a sexually explicit video and uploaded it to Pornhub without her knowledge or consent when she was 13 years old. The video garnered millions of views and spiraled the plaintiff’s life out of control.
A Visa spokesperson said the company “condemns sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse materials as repugnant to our values and purpose as a company,” adding that the pre-trial ruling mischaracterized Visa’s role, policies, and practices.
MindGeek said in a previous statement reported by The Daily Wire that it has “zero tolerance for the posting of illegal content on its platforms and has instituted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history.”
“Any insinuation that MindGeek does not take the elimination of illegal material seriously is categorically false,” the statement said.
The company also claims to have banned uploads from anyone who has not submitted government-issued identification that passes a third-party verification while eliminating the ability to download free content.
Laila Mickelwait, founder and CEO of Justice Defense Fund, a nonprofit that has opposed Pornhub since it has been accused of having ties with the sex trafficking of minors, also hailed Instagram’s move as the right decision.
“It is worth remembering that it’s illegal in the United States according to the Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act to knowingly benefit from a sex trafficking venture,” Mickelwait <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://twitter.com/LailaMickelwait" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Instagram joins Visa, Mastercard, Discover, PayPal, Grant Thornton, Heinz, Unilever, Roku, and many other companies in rejecting to do business with Pornhub, Mickelwait said, adding that other tech platforms and search engines like Google search, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Reflected Networks should follow suit.

In this photo illustration, the app icons of Facebook,

Instagram Removes Pornhub Account Following ‘Mounting Evidence’ Of Alleged Criminality 

Child pornography

Child Sex Abuse

Pornhub

One week after a federal judge ruled that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/visa">Visa</a> Inc. allegedly helped monetize child pornography through adult websites like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pornhub">Pornhub</a>, the payment processing giant on Thursday said it would suspend its services with the advertising arm of Pornhub’s parent company, MindGeek.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney of the Central District of California wrote, &#8220;Visa knew that MindGeek&#8217;s websites were teeming with monetized child porn,&#8221; in the Fleites v. MindGeek lawsuit filed last year alleging Pornhub&#8217;s operator violated federal sex trafficking and child pornography laws.
Visa, who has since condemned child sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child sex abuse materials, had asked the court to dismiss the claim that the company violated a California law prohibiting false advertising and illegal business practices. However, Judge Carney denied the request.
Alfred Kelly, CEO of Visa, wrote in a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2022/08/03/we-do-not-1659542369610.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a> that the company &#8220;strongly disagree[s]&#8221; with the judge&#8217;s decision, adding the allegations have mischaracterized its policies and practices.
&#8220;The allegations in this lawsuit are repugnant and stand in direct contradiction to Visa&#8217;s values and purpose,&#8221; Kelly wrote.
Kelly, who felt compelled as a father and grandfather to speak out, said Visa cards would no longer be able to purchase advertising on any sites affiliated with MindGeek.
MindGeek&#8217;s advertiser, TrafficJunky, which garners 4.6 billion daily ad impressions on the world&#8217;s top adult websites, has indefinitely lost its &#8220;privileges&#8221; with Visa after the recent legal decision has created &#8220;new uncertainty&#8221; about the advertiser&#8217;s role, Kelly wrote.
&#8220;Visa has longstanding rules and processes designed to uphold the integrity of our network,&#8221; the CEO wrote. &#8220;We have taken this opportunity to reiterate and reinforce our requirements with respect to legal transactions with all acquiring institutions – those institutions that bring merchants to our network and hold direct relationships with them.&#8221;
&#8220;We have made it clear that acquirers and merchants who are unable to meet our standards and requirements are not welcome on our network,&#8221; Kelly added.
Following a New York Times exposé published in 2020 that highlighted the story of Serena Fleites, the plaintiff in the case against MindGeek, Visa suspended its services with websites that contained user-generated content in December 2020. To this day, the company says users cannot use Visa cards on Pornhub.
Fleites alleges a former boyfriend pressured her into making a sexually explicit video which he would later upload to Pornhub without her knowledge or consent when she was 13 years old. The video garnered millions of views and spiraled the plaintiff&#8217;s life out of control.
MindGeek issued a statement that said the court has not ruled on the veracity of the allegations and is required to assume all of the plaintiff&#8217;s claims are true and accurate.
&#8220;When the court can actually consider the facts, we are confident the plaintiff&#8217;s claims will be dismissed for lack of merit,&#8221; a spokesperson from MindGeek told Variety. &#8220;MindGeek has zero tolerance for the posting of illegal content on its platforms and has instituted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history.&#8221;
The online porn network operator also claims to have banned uploads from anyone who has not submitted government-issued identification that passes a third-party verification.
MindGeek said it eliminated the ability to download free content, integrated several leading technology platforms and content moderation tools, and instituted digital fingerprinting of all videos found to violate its rules against non-consensual content and child sexual abuse.
&#8220;Policies to help protect against removed videos being reposted, expanded our moderation workforce and processes, and partnered with dozens of non-profit organizations around the world,&#8221; MindGeek&#8217;s spokesperson said. &#8220;Any insinuation that MindGeek does not take the elimination of illegal material seriously is categorically false.&#8221;
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation has played a part in an international effort to dismantle Pornhub by acting as co-counsel on a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/Doe-v-Mindgeek-amended-complaint-7.27.2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">class action lawsuit</a> filed on behalf of two childhood sex trafficking survivors alleging the videos and images of their abuse were posted on Pornhub and other MindGeek-owned sites.
As the case against MindGeek develops, the non-profit has called on Visa to cut ties with the pornography industry altogether.
&#8220;Visa long supported the monetization of child sexual abuse, sex trafficking, rape, and image-based abuse images found on MindGeek-owned pornography websites by continuing to process payments for the company despite being put on notice by NCOSE and others of the abuse. Now, Visa has taken an incremental step, but they must do more,&#8221; Dawn Hawkins, CEO of the non-profit, told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;If Visa cares about these issues as much as they say they do, Visa must suspend all payment processing services for XVideos, XHamster, and all pornography tube sites as well as their advertising arms, not only TrafficJunky,&#8221; Hawkins said.
However, Visa&#8217;s CEO wrote the company would not make moral judgments on lawful purchases and said customers could purchase content from MindGeek studio sites that feature adult professional actors in legal adult entertainment.

Matt Cardy Archive

Visa Suspends Business With Pornhub Ad Services Following Child Porn Case Ruling

Child Abuse

Human Trafficking

Pornography

A federal judge ruled on Friday that it was reasonable to conclude that Visa knowingly &#8216;intended to help monetize child pornography&#8217; on Pornhub and other sites operated by its parent company, MindGeek.
U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California wrote, &#8220;Visa knew that MindGeek&#8217;s websites were teeming with monetized child porn,&#8221; in the Fleites v. MindGeek <a href="https://pershingsquarefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/031138281455.pdf">lawsuit</a>. 
&#8220;When MindGeek decides to monetize child porn, and Visa decides to continue to allow its payment network to be used for that goal despite knowledge of MindGeek&#8217;s monetization of child porn, it is entirely foreseeable that victims of child porn like plaintiff will suffer the harms that plaintiff alleges,&#8221; Carney wrote.
Plaintiff Serena Fleites filed the lawsuit last year, alleging MindGeek violated federal sex trafficking and child pornography laws. Such violations led credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard to suspend processing payments on Pornhub following a New York Times report revealing illegal content on its website.
Fleites alleges a former boyfriend pressured her into making a sexually explicit video and uploaded it to Pornhub without her knowledge or consent when she was 13 years old. The video garnered millions of views and spiraled the plaintiff&#8217;s life out of control.
&#8220;While MindGeek profited from the child porn featuring Plaintiff, Plaintiff was intermittently homeless or living in her car, addicted to heroin, depressed and suicidal, and without the support of her family,&#8221; the lawsuit reads.
Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/pornhub-visa-child-pornography-court-ruling-1235330052/">reports</a> the plaintiff&#8217;s lead attorney, Michael Bowe, said, &#8220;the court&#8217;s holding that our detailed complaint adequately pleads Visa was engaged in a criminal conspiracy to monetize child porn means Visa and other credit card companies are finally going to face the civil and perhaps criminal consequences of &#8230; this unconscionable and illegal activity.&#8221;
Carney denied Visa&#8217;s motion to dismiss the claim that the company violated California&#8217;s Unfair Competition Law, which prohibits false advertising and illegal business practices.
A Visa spokesperson told Variety the company &#8220;condemns sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse materials as repugnant to our values and purpose as a company.&#8221;
The spokesperson called the pre-trial ruling disappointing and said it mischaracterized Visa&#8217;s role, policies, and practices. 
&#8220;Visa will not tolerate the use of our network for illegal activity,&#8221; the spokesperson said. &#8220;We continue to believe that Visa is an improper defendant in this case.&#8221;
MindGeek also weighed in, issuing a statement that said the court has not ruled on the veracity of the allegations and is required to assume all of the plaintiff&#8217;s claims are true and accurate. 
&#8220;When the court can actually consider the facts, we are confident the plaintiff&#8217;s claims will be dismissed for lack of merit,&#8221; a spokesperson from MindGeek told Variety. &#8220;MindGeek has zero tolerance for the posting of illegal content on its platforms, and has instituted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history.&#8221;
Pornhub&#8217;s parent company also claims to have banned uploads from anyone who has not submitted government-issued identification that passes a third-party verification. 
The company said it eliminated the ability to download free content, integrated several leading technology platforms and content moderation tools, and instituted digital fingerprinting of all videos found to violate its rules against non-consensual content and child sexual abuse.
&#8220;Policies to help protect against removed videos being reposted, expanded our moderation workforce and processes, and partnered with dozens of non-profit organizations around the world,&#8221; MindGeek&#8217;s spokesperson said. &#8220;Any insinuation that MindGeek does not take the elimination of illegal material seriously is categorically false.&#8221;
The judge&#8217;s ruling comes a month after MindGeek denied allegations from a non-profit organization that more than half of its employees were likely laid off following the resignation of two of the company&#8217;s top executives on the same day.
Last month, MindGeek&#8217;s former chief executive officer, Feras Antoon, and ex-Chief Operating Officer David Tassillo resigned after more than a decade of running the adult website company, though both remain shareholders of the company.
However, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the non-profit that made the allegations, said in a statement Wednesday that the reported layoffs, which come from layoffstracker.com, &#8220;are more evidence that the infrastructure of the pornography industry is crumbling and that MindGeek needs to be investigated.&#8221;
&#8220;It is no coincidence that MindGeek&#8217;s two top executives have fled amid a growing number of lawsuits we and other law firms have filed on behalf of sex trafficking survivors whose abuse has been shown on Pornhub,&#8221; Dawn Hawkins, CEO of the center <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pornhub-parent-company-denies-reports-that-employees-are-fleeing">said</a>. &#8220;And because of the intense outcry from survivors, advocates, corporations, and even from news outlets like the New York Times, The New Yorker, and the BBC that revealed Pornhub&#8217;s criminality.&#8221;
However, MindGeek told The Daily Wire such allegations are &#8220;categorically false.&#8221;
Still, Hawkins asserts Pornhub profited from mass distribution of filmed sexual crimes and non-consensually recorded and uploaded videos and called on the federal government to hold the website accountable for mass criminal exploitation.
During a virtual U.S. Congressional briefing in 2021, the non-profit presented evidence of the rampant criminality on Pornhub and included testimony from survivors.
Sexually abused children and trafficking victims have filed multiple class-action civil lawsuits against Pornhub in the United States and Canada.

Logo Photo Illustration

Reasonable To Conclude Visa Knowingly Helped Monetize Child Porn, Says Judge In Pornhub Case

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