NEW YORK: The decision of more than a dozen brands to sever their links with the National Rifle Association in the wake of the Parkland shootings of 17 students and teachers has increased pressure on others to dump the gun lobby as a boycott campaign gathers steam.
Over the past week a number of brands have decided to end their affiliation with the NRA and withdraw discounts to its members. The #BoycottNRA hashtag is aiming to pile pressure on those brands that still have NRA links to end their relationships.
“It’s no accident that whole groups of business are fleeing the NRA in sectors such as rental cars (Avis, Hertz, Enterprise), hotels (Best Western, Wyndham), insurance (Chubb, MetLife), and airlines (Delta, United),” Bloomberg noted.
“It’s easy for consumers to register their displeasure by choosing an alternative.”
Such is the level of corporate concern that American Airlines felt it necessary to state why it hadn’t joined Delta and United in dropping the NRA – explaining that it did not actually have a deal to scrap.
Campaigners now have brands like FedEx, which offers discounted shipping to NRA members, in their sights, while Amazon, Apple, Google and Roku are being asked to stop streaming the NRA’s video channel.
A CNN poll on Sunday suggested that there is growing support for such action, as 70% now favor stricter gun laws, compared to 52% following last year’s Las Vegas mass shooting in which 58 people died.
Meanwhile investment companies like Blackstone and BlackRock are preparing themselves for questions about their ownership of companies that make and sell guns, according to the Washington Post.
In a statement the NRA called the decisions of companies to cut their ties “a shameful display of political and civic cowardice” and added that the loss of a discount would not deter its members from their stance on guns.
But, Slate argued, that’s not the point. “Turning the NRA into a pariah is a useful morale-boosting mission for gun control advocates, even if all it’s doing right now is denying some gun owners cheap car rentals.”
Over the past week a number of brands have decided to end their affiliation with the NRA and withdraw discounts to its members. The #BoycottNRA hashtag is aiming to pile pressure on those brands that still have NRA links to end their relationships.
“It’s no accident that whole groups of business are fleeing the NRA in sectors such as rental cars (Avis, Hertz, Enterprise), hotels (Best Western, Wyndham), insurance (Chubb, MetLife), and airlines (Delta, United),” Bloomberg noted.
“It’s easy for consumers to register their displeasure by choosing an alternative.”
Such is the level of corporate concern that American Airlines felt it necessary to state why it hadn’t joined Delta and United in dropping the NRA – explaining that it did not actually have a deal to scrap.
Campaigners now have brands like FedEx, which offers discounted shipping to NRA members, in their sights, while Amazon, Apple, Google and Roku are being asked to stop streaming the NRA’s video channel.
A CNN poll on Sunday suggested that there is growing support for such action, as 70% now favor stricter gun laws, compared to 52% following last year’s Las Vegas mass shooting in which 58 people died.
Meanwhile investment companies like Blackstone and BlackRock are preparing themselves for questions about their ownership of companies that make and sell guns, according to the Washington Post.
In a statement the NRA called the decisions of companies to cut their ties “a shameful display of political and civic cowardice” and added that the loss of a discount would not deter its members from their stance on guns.
But, Slate argued, that’s not the point. “Turning the NRA into a pariah is a useful morale-boosting mission for gun control advocates, even if all it’s doing right now is denying some gun owners cheap car rentals.”
Sourced from Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNN, Slate; additional content by WARC staff
