Less than a month after West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey started investigating several companies for allegedly discriminating against an in-state ammunition manufacturer, the AG says he’s received pledges from the firms that they will treat lawful firearm commerce the same as any other industry.
As we reported in mid-July, Kent Cartridge Company said it was denied services by two payment processing firms because of the products it makes. McCuskey started investigating Bill.com and Ramp after representatives told KCC that they couldn’t use their services “due to compliance and underwriting restrictions,” and “due to restrictions from our partners,” according to emails obtained by the National Shooting Sports Investigation.
Now McCuskey says those companies, along with a third financial institution, are backing away from their previous stance.
Ramp, BILL, and the First Internet Bank of Indiana each assured Attorney General JB McCuskey via letter that they do not categorically refuse to serve firearms industry companies. The assurances follow warning letters sent last week informing the companies that their refusal to provide payment processing services to Kent Cartridge Company could violate West Virginia’s FIND Act. Kent Cartridge Company has produced premium, environmentally friendly ammunition at its factory in Kearneysville, in the Eastern Panhandle, for more than 30 years.
Additionally, BILL has informed the AG’s Office that it has now entered into a business relationship with Kent Cartridge Company.
“We are pleased that these financial companies have confirmed that they will treat members of the firearms industry the same way they treat all other business. The FIND Act exists because West Virginians care deeply about the right to bear arms and my Office is committed to protecting that right,” West Virginia Attorney General McCuskey said. “I encourage any West Virginia firearms business, large or small, to reach out to our office if they have faced discrimination by a financial institution, bank, credit card company, or payment processor. We will investigate, and when warranted, take action.”
First Internet Bank of Indiana partners with Ramp, so even though that company did not have any direct contact with Kent Cartridge Company its restrictions still impacted the ammo maker and its ability to process payments from its customers.
I’m glad to see these assurances, but it’s a shame they were even necessary to begin with. And if companies like BILL weren’t discriminating against firearm industry members, then why did they inform Kent Cartridge Company that it couldn’t use their services… and why did that position change only after the West Virginia Attorney General got involved?
It would be nice if laws like the FIND Act weren’t necessary, but the gun control lobby has been engaged in a pressure campaign targeting financial services firms for years now. Just as groups like Everytown and Giffords work to get retailers to make their stores “gun-free zones,” the anti-gunners lobby companies like BILL to make their client roster free of any company with ties to the firearms industry. The federal government has even been involved at times, like the Obama administration launching Operation Choke Point to use the FDIC pressure banks not to do business with the firearms industry and other companies labeled “high risk”, like payday loan lenders and pawn shops.
The Trump administration has stopped those federal abuses and has taken steps to end financial discrimination against the firearms industry as well. As of February 2025 there are also nine states, including West Virginia, that have adopted the Firearm Industry Non-Discrimination Act, and that number will hopefully continue to grow.
Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.
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