Shopify Ending Contracts with Firearms Industry

DC-W · Aug 15, 2018

Shopify, an online storefront and payment processing business is summarily ending contracts with lawful merchants engaging in anything firearms related.
It started with Shopify terminating their contract with ghostgunner.net, leaving the site offline for about a day, shuttering their business and forcing Defense Distributed to find rebuild their online store.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DkPznx9UYAAQm6I.jpg
The irony is that the CEO of Shopify posted a full-throated defense of Free Speech and defended the law just a year ago, when he was being berated for facilitating Breitbart's online store.
https://web.archive.org/web/2018081.../@tobi/in-support-of-free-speech-275d62670203

He had since 'revised' the document, saying he's "evolved."
https://tobi.lutke.com/blogs/news/in-support-of-free-speech-update

Here's the list of things Shopify now doesn't want to have anything to do with:
https://www.shopify.com/legal/aup-definitions#RestrictedItems

The shops of Spike's Tactical, Rare Breed Firearms, and others have also been de-platformed like Defense Distributed.

Cody Wilson immediately jumped on Shopify's hypocrisy
https://twitter.com/Radomysisky/status/1027943963284709377

Cody R. Wilson‏Verified account @Radomysisky Aug 10
I’m going to depose you on camera and you can talk about your bitchmade blog posts @tobi

Daily Wire has more coverage here:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/3450...t-supporting-free-speech-amanda-prestigiacomo

Occam · Aug 15, 2018

I'm just waiting for Amazon to have to explain why they do untold millions of dollars in business in "firearm related" products, despite a lot of the corporate products. Their AWS cloud platform is also home to all sorts of business activity, including the web sites and other platforms that are part of some firearm businesses. It would be kind of nice to get Bezos to issue a clear cut statement on the subject, so that people can make plans if they're thinking of ripping the rug out from under all of that activity.

Oh, and just for clarity, shuddered -> shuttered.

whistlersmother · Aug 15, 2018

Do the companies have any chance of getting a lawsuit to the point of depositions?

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DC-W · Aug 15, 2018

Occam said:
I'm just waiting for Amazon to have to explain why they do untold millions of dollars in business in "firearm related" products, despite a lot of the corporate products. Their AWS cloud platform is also home to all sorts of business activity, including the web sites and other platforms that are part of some firearm businesses. It would be kind of nice to get Bezos to issue a clear cut statement on the subject, so that people can make plans if they're thinking of ripping the rug out from under all of that activity.

Oh, and just for clarity, shuddered -> shuttered.

Thanks, grammarian!

DC-W · Aug 15, 2018

whistlersmother said:
Do the companies have any chance of getting a lawsuit to the point of depositions?

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Wilson believes so.

Cody R. Wilson‏Verified account @Radomysisky Aug 10

My business has been summarily disabled by @Shopify against our contractual terms.

Yung @tobi deletes his entire medium account in awe of me. Still got it, dog. You’ll tell me all about it in a windowless room: https://web.archive.org/web/20180812123439/https://medium.com/@tobi/in-support-of-free-speech-275d62670203 …

He was a law student, after all.

HoCoShooter · Aug 15, 2018

Occam said:
I'm just waiting for Amazon to have to explain why they do untold millions of dollars in business in "firearm related" products, despite a lot of the corporate products. Their AWS cloud platform is also home to all sorts of business activity, including the web sites and other platforms that are part of some firearm businesses. It would be kind of nice to get Bezos to issue a clear cut statement on the subject, so that people can make plans if they're thinking of ripping the rug out from under all of that activity.

Oh, and just for clarity, shuddered -> shuttered.

Same with donating through saf.org/amazon - I am also surprised that they haven't closed that down yet.

DC-W · Aug 15, 2018

HoCoShooter said:
Same with donating through saf.org/amazon - I am also surprised that they haven't closed that down yet.

Only a matter of time before they 'evolve' too.

iH8DemLibz · Aug 15, 2018

Just another piece of track laid down for the making gun ownership more onerous express to travel on.

People wanting to get into guns and the fair weather second amendment supporters will throw their hands up and say it's not worth the hassle. The one and only reason why FSA2013 was enacted.

Real second amendment supporters will always find a way to own guns and ammunition.

ironpony · Aug 15, 2018

So, is any surprised?

smokey · Aug 15, 2018

New front... "the 2a says 'keep and bear', not 'manufacture and sell'. Therefore, shutting down the firearms industry is constitutional"

It sure would be interesting to know what high-level back room deals are getting all these businesses spooked into dumping everything 2a. What's Obama up to these days again?

DC-W · Aug 15, 2018

The Bloomberg groups and the AG’s who want nothing more than to keep the monopoly on violence to themselves are the ones pressuring businesses to “do something.”

Giffords had openly called for Shopify to end their ties with Defense Distributed.

adit · Aug 15, 2018

There is always Cash, until they shut that down. At that point we'll be back to trading shiny beads.

txcat · Aug 15, 2018

DC-W said:
Here's the list of things Shopify now doesn't want to have anything to do with:
https://www.shopify.com/legal/aup-definitions#RestrictedItems

That list is not something they came up with on their own. It's likely to have been fed to them by Bloomberg/MomsDemand or the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (based in San Francisco).

RepublicOfFranklin · Aug 15, 2018

What a bunch of pricks. I concur that the sites and products targeted were hand written for Shopify by someone else. Political groups targeting private industry feels wrong, is wrong, but I don’t know for sure what legality is. You would think a company taking marching orders from a PAC should have to register as a political entity and follow the same rules as one.

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aray · Aug 15, 2018

Banned: "a semi-automatic firearm that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine, with one or more of the following items: magazine capable of accepting more than 10 rounds"

Well there goes pretty much every single semiautomatic on the planet.

aray · Aug 15, 2018

Turns out it's not just Shopify. Intuit just pulled the same stunt; check it out here.

DC-W · Aug 15, 2018

RepublicOfFranklin said:
What a bunch of pricks. I concur that the sites and products targeted were hand written for Shopify by someone else. Political groups targeting private industry feels wrong, is wrong, but I don’t know for sure what legality is. You would think a company taking marching orders from a PAC should have to register as a political entity and follow the same rules as one.

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The companies had contracts with Shopify. The severances may have breached those contracts.

DP12 · Aug 15, 2018

Every time this happens, alternatives sprout up.

You don't want to support business that sell products I want? OK. Both sides can play that game. I don't buy anything from companies that put their totalitarian politics before profit.

smokey · Aug 15, 2018

DP12 said:
Every time this happens, alternatives sprout up.

You don't want to support business that sell products I want? OK. Both sides can play that game. I don't buy anything from companies that put their totalitarian politics before profit.

The problem is the same thing as with YouTube, guns don't account for a whole lot of business in this country. A place like youtube shopify will get along just fine with zero gun related business.

On the gun side of things, there is not enough gun business to support an infrastructure like those other places can offer. Unless all gun people step up to put a principled stand against these corporations, they won't really care.

John from MD · Aug 15, 2018

Can a lawyer argue that this is a conspiracy to disenfranchise citizens from participating in a legal activity? There has to be a way to stop this legally or else we will eventually have another civil war. :sad20:

Shopify Ending Contracts with Firearms Industry

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