An activist group wants credit card companies to prevent consumers from buying assault weapons.
Women's advocacy group UltraViolet announced the launch of a peition Thursday calling for major credit card companies such as Visa, Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citibank to prohibit transactions with assault weapon sellers.
According to UltraViolet, the petition garnered over 32,000 signatures within 24 hours and as of Monday reached 53,000.
The group, which has been involved in anti-gun efforts as part of its advocacy for victims of domestic violence, has also been involved in protests tied to the Parkland, Fla. mass shooting that killed 17 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and faculty on February 14.
Now UltraViolet is calling for the private sector to become part of the effort to curb the sale of assault weapons.
UltraViolet cited a report from Everytown for Gun Safety that concluded there were 156 mass shootings in the U.S. between 2009 and 2016 in which 848 people were shot and killed.
“While Congress has failed to act, major credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard must help curb the epidemic of gun violence by making it harder to buy assault weapons,” said Nita Chaudhary, the co-founder of UltraViolet. “These companies have the power to act to help save lives—and it's now time for them to step up and take action.”
The advocacy group wants companies to follow the lead of online payment system Paypal, which doesn't allow the buying or selling of any kind of firearm and certain firearm parts on its platform.
Ultraviolet gained media attention in January by using lights to project “Donald Trump harassed or assaulted twenty women. Congress: Investigate Trump" on the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C.
UltraViolet, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America did not respond to request for comment. Citibank declined to comment.