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In February 2018, a boycott emerged against the U.S. gun rights advocacy group National Rifle Association (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 have more armed security and its refusal to support bans on certain assault weapons. Calls for companies to sever their ties to the NRA, including discounts affiliates and gun retailers, resulted in several companies discontinuing their business relationships with the NRA. The boycott extended to Canada where Mountain Equipment Co-op and the Running Room cut supplier relationships with Vista Outdoor.

Background

After the Parkland shooting, there was an unprecedented upsurge of public support for gun control advocacy groups 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.

On February 20, 2018, ThinkProgress asked over two dozen corporations offering discounts to NRA members whether they would continue their relationships with the NRA. 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. 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.”

NRA anti-gun list

From at least 2012 until early 2013 the NRA maintained a published list of organizations, businesses, celebrities, journalists, and private individuals that the NRA terms "anti-gun". The list also includes media outlets that have refused to run NRA ads. The inclusion of some names was questioned. While no stated reason for the list was given by the NRA, the Huffington Post speculated the list was intended to help NRA members know who to boycott. The NRA refused comment on the list's purpose. Though the longer list was removed by the NRA, the complete list remains visible on other web sites, and the NRA maintains a portion of the list on its blog.

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 and the NRA promotes the opportunity to save hundreds of dollars more than the cost of membership.

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. They include:

Retained ties

Several companies have been pressured to disaffiliate with the NRA, but have not, or have not issued statements indicating that they will.

FedEx

Pressure on FedEx to drop NRA discounts of up to 26 percent had been going on for nearly a year before the Florida shooting. Guns Down America started a petition asking FedEx to pull out of the NRA's Business Alliance. After several companies cut ties with the NRA, calls to boycott FedEx arose on social media under the hashtag #BoycottFedEx. In a statement, FedEx affirmed that while it does not fully agree with the NRA on issues of gun safety and policy, it will continue its business relationship with the organization.

Insurance providers

In response to the NRA boycott several companies discontinued insurance products targeted at NRA members.

  • Lockton Companies announced it would no longer sell NRA endorsed policies.
  • Chubb Limited ended it's insurance product called NRA Carry Guard which covered gun owners who shot someone and claimed self-defence.
  • MetLife

Vista Outdoor

Vista Outdoor manufactures rifles and ammunition as well as owning a range of other outdoor product brands including those used for hydration or cycling.

In February 2018, consumers called on retailers to stop selling of all Vista Outdoor products with some bicycle retailers in several states stopping to sell any Vista Outdoor products or brands, while others cancelled orders or returned existing stock. Canadian retail cooperative Mountain 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. Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) also announced that they would stop ordering all Vista Outdoor products. Running Room announced it will discontinue Camelbak products across its 120 Canadian and two US store chains and cited strong customer support for the move.

Broadcasters of NRA programming

NRATV, the NRA's online video channel, is a prominent forum used by the organization to disseminate its message and with a large follower base on social media. In the aftermath of the events in Parkland, activists created the hashtags #stopNRAmazon and #DumpNRATV asking Amazon to discontinue streaming programs from NRATV, an initiative supported by celebrities like Alyssa Milano, Denis O’Hare, Evan Handler, Ben Gleib, Joshua Malina, Warren Leight, Genevieve Angelson, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Misha Collins. Other companies offering NRATV programs as part of their streaming services became the target of a similar campaign launched by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and Everytown for Gun Safety.

The following companies continue to stream NRAtv, despite petitions for them to stop:

Gun dealers

On February 28, 2018 Dick's Sporting Goods discontinued the sale of all assault-style rifles, high capacity magazines and bump stocks. The company also immediately restricted the sale of any guns to customers aged 21 or older. As justification for the move, Dick’s praised the Stoneman Douglas students who are campaigning for gun reform and for businesses to side against the NRA. They also noted that Dick's had legally sold a shotgun (not used in the assault) to the Parkland shooter.

Dick's also launched a corporate campaign for officials “to enact common sense gun reform” including regulations to require universal background checks, raise the age to purchase guns to 21, and ban the assault weapons and accessories that Dick's no longer sells.

Since Dick's is a large gun dealer their moves were cited as "one of the biggest steps taken by a US company" after the Parkland shotting energized the gun control debate.

Citing "recent events" on February 28, 2018 Walmart announced it would raise the required age to buy all guns and ammo to 21 and require background checks on all purchasers. Walmart also stopped all sales of air rifles and toys that look like assault rifles on its website and called for tougher gun control measures. Walmart stopped selling semi-automatic assault rifles in 2015, and has been reducing the number of stores that sell guns for some years. It does not sell handguns (except in Alaska) and it does not sell bump stocks or high capacity magazines. On March 1, 2018, US grocery chain Kroger announced it would stop selling guns and ammunition to people under 21 at 45 of its Fred Meyer locations. Their grocery stores do not sell fire arms.

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.”

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. 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.

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 Airlines 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." In response, Delta CEO Ed Bastian stood his ground, saying, "Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale."

See also

References

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External links

Parkland high school shooting
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