In February 2018, a boycott emerged against the U.S. gun rights advocacy group National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and its business affiliates. The boycott and social media activism campaign arose in the aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. The NRA was criticized for its response, including its recommendation for schools to arm teachers and opposition to bans on certain weapons. Calls for companies to sever their ties to the NRA resulted in several companies discontinuing their business relationships with the NRA and cancelling discount programs offered to NRA members. The boycott extended to Canada where Mountain Equipment Co-op and the Running Room cut supplier relationships with Vista Outdoor.[1][2] Public pressure also caused a number of gun retailers to increase the age required to buy firearms and place other restrictions on gun sales.
Background
After the Parkland shooting, there was an unprecedented upsurge of public support for gun control advocacy groups[3] and significant backlash against the NRA for its response to the shooting, having argued that schools required more armed security to protect against the possibility of future attacks, and its continued calls to preserving the right to own semi-automatic firearms, such as those used in the shooting.[4][5]
On February 20, 2018, ThinkProgress asked over two dozen corporations offering discounts to NRA members whether they would continue their relationships with the NRA.[6] Several companies terminated their agreements with the NRA, and their announcements went viral, along with hashtags such as #BoycottNRA, started by activists like Michael Skolnik.[7] One of the first to respond to the boycott, First National Bank of Omaha, the largest privately held bank in the United States, announced that it will not renew its deal for the "official credit card of the NRA".[8][9]
Companies involved
Affinity marketing
One class of companies targeted generally offer or offered discounts or free trials to NRA members, often advertised on the NRA website, in what is often termed affinity marketing. Access to discounts is a benefit of paying NRA membership dues[10] and the NRA promotes the opportunity to save hundreds of dollars more than the cost of membership.[11]
Severed ties
Companies that have severed ties with the NRA as of February 24, 2018, span banks, airlines, car rental services, hotels, and software companies.[12][13][14] They include:
Protesters outside the FedEx Office in Midtown Manhattan
Pressure on FedEx to drop NRA discounts of up to 26 percent had been going on for nearly a year before the Florida shooting.[26][42] After several companies cut ties with the NRA, calls to boycott FedEx arose on social media under the hashtag #BoycottFedEx.[43] In a statement, FedEx affirmed that while it does not fully agree with the NRA on issues of gun policy, it will continue its business relationship with the organization.[44][45][46] Due to a drop in NRA-related volume that made the organization ineligible for discounts, the NRA was dropped from the program on October 30, 2018.[47]
Insurance providers
In response to the NRA boycott several companies discontinued insurance products targeted at NRA members.
Vista Outdoor manufactures AR-15-style rifles under the Savage Arms brand and ammunition under the CCI and Federal brands as well as a range of bike related and other outdoor products including the Bell, Giro, CamelBak, and Blackburn brands. After the Parkland shooting, consumers called on retailers to stop selling all Vista Outdoor products specifically over the company's support of the NRA.
Bicycle retailers in several states stopped selling all Vista Outdoor products, citing the company's support for the NRA. Some cancelled orders or returned existing stock.[52][53][54] Canadian retail cooperativeMountain Equipment Co-op similarly announced on March 1, 2018, that, in response to a petition by its members, it would no longer stock products by Vista Outdoor brands in its 22 stores. The co-op does not sell guns.[55][56] In the United States Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) announced that they would stop ordering all Vista Outdoor products due to the company's NRA support.[57] Running Room, Canada's largest dealer of athletic apparel announced it will discontinue Camelbak products across the chain of 120 Canadian and two US stores, citing strong customer support for the move.[58][59]
Roku, Inc., which streams NRATV and NRA Women, stated it operates an open streaming service and that clients decide which channels they download.[69][70][71]
SiriusXM, which hosts an NRA radio show[26] has also been pressured to cut ties.[72]
National grocery retailer Publix suspended all political donations after Stoneman Douglas survivor David Hogg organized a "die in" and a public boycott to protest the company's support of Adam Putnam, an NRA-backed candidate for Florida governor. The NRA had labeled Putnam with its highest endorsement and Putnam called himself on Twitter a "proud NRA sellout". Hogg stated "Anyone who supports an NRA sellout is an NRA sellout," as the reason for the action.[74] Prior to the in store protests Hogg called on Publix to donate $1 million to the Stoneman Douglas Victims fund.[75][76]
Response
In a statement released February 24, 2018, the NRA accused the companies involved in the boycott of "a shameful display of political and civic cowardice" and added, "Let it be absolutely clear. The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world."[77][78]
Following the NRA's response, conservative commentators and gun rights supporters voiced opposition to the boycott, calling it "mob justice" and accusing supporters of silencing free speech.[79] Tim Hentschel of HotelPlanner.com said he would not mix business and politics, and that his decision to maintain the company's relationship with the NRA was not based on money.[80]
Republicans in the Georgia state Senate voted to remove $50 million in jet fuel tax sale exemptions from a tax bill in response to Delta Air Lines' decision to sever ties with the NRA. Republican Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle tweeted "I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA. Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back."[81][82][83] Delta CEO Ed Bastian responded, saying, "Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale."[84]
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