Yesterday, Citibank made an announcement. It seems they didn’t learn from Dick’s financial woes and have decided to go down the same rabbit hole. However, in the process, they crossed a couple of lines.

For one, yes, they crossed the line with regard to the Second Amendment. That is obvious.

However, companies have an obligation, to be honest, and I can’t help but spot what sure looks like dishonesty in their blog post announcing these new changes (emphasis mine).

Today, our CEO announced Citi is instituting a new U.S. Commercial Firearms Policy. It is not centered on an ideological mission to rid the world of firearms. That is not what we seek. There are millions of Americans who use firearms for recreational and other legitimate purposes, and we respect their Constitutional right to do so.

But we want to do our part as a company to prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands. So our new policy centers around current firearms sales best practices that will guide those we do business with as a firm.

Under this new policy, we will require new retail sector clients or partners to adhere to these best practices: (1) they don’t sell firearms to someone who hasn’t passed a background check, (2) they restrict the sale of firearms for individuals under 21 years of age, and (3) they don’t sell bump stocks or high-capacity magazines. This policy will apply across the firm, including to small business, commercial and institutional clients, as well as credit card partners, whether co-brand or private label. It doesn’t impact the ability of consumers to use their Citi cards at merchants of their choice.

We know our clients also care about these issues and we have begun to engage with them in the hope that they will adopt these best practices over the coming months. If they opt not to, we will respect their decision and work with them to transition their business away from Citi.

Now, note the phrase in bold. In particular, the words “best practices.”

In business, “best practices” are basically defined as the most efficient and correct course of action. But they’re not. They’re virtue-signaling twaddle. While “best practices” also often encompasses ethical concerns, I can make a case that blocking someone to purchase a product they’re legally allowed to purchase because of their age is highly unethical. It’s age discrimination, after all.

No, this isn’t a best practice, and I think Citibank knows this. They’re a massive corporation. There’s no way they don’t understand what a real “best practice” actually is. I think they used the term because they want others to believe this is the best practice for a gun shop.

But this is the kind of thing the anti-gunners want. They want gun stores and gun owners to be left out in the cold. They want to isolate and push us and try to cram this kind of thing down our throats.

Luckily, Citibank is only one financial institution. With luck, the others will look at where virtue signaling has gotten others and recognize that perhaps this is not the way to proceed.

In the meantime, if you have any business with Citibank, it’s time to consider ending it and letting the company know exactly why.