BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today congratulated Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) for a letter he sent to bank officials and two major firearms manufacturers that blasts the strong arm tactics of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is pressuring the banks to cut off lines of credit to gun makers.

In his letter to officials at Bank of America and TD Bank, and the CEOs of Sturm, Ruger and Smith & Wesson, Sen. Cruz observed, “We (in Texas) do not accept the notion that government officials should behave like bullies, trying to harass or pressure private companies into enlisting in a political lobbying campaign.” He sent a copy of the letter to Mayor Emanuel.

“We really appreciate Sen. Cruz for weighing in on this controversy,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, who issued a blistering critique of Emanuel’s demagoguery earlier Tuesday. “He’s got the kind of backbone one expects of a Texan, and he’s drawn a line in the sand that’s every bit as bold as the one Col. Travis drew at the Alamo.”

Cruz pulled no punches in his remarks to Emanuel. He asserted that the Chicago mayor’s efforts “call into doubt the claims of President Obama and Washington Democrats that they do not seek to strip Americans of our Second Amendment rights.” The senator also noted to Emanuel that, “Your continued anti-gun crusade may well cause some to wonder if the interests of the citizens of Chicago are being sacrificed in pursuit of a partisan agenda.”

Gottlieb called Emanuel’s pressure on the banks an “outrage,” and suggested that it was more in line with the tactics of a street thug than a public official. Sen. Cruz reminded Emanuel that his actions could directly impact the rights of Texas citizens to keep and bear arms.

“Sen. Cruz asked Mayor Emanuel to ‘keep his efforts to diminish the Bill of Rights north of the Red River’,” Gottlieb observed. “We think Emanuel’s tactics have no place on American soil. What he’s trying is tantamount to political racketeering, and we’re delighted that Ted Cruz has called him out.”