More firms cut ties with NRA after Parkland

NEW YORK — The National Rifle Association and Florida’s government faced more backlash Saturday as companies continued to cut ties to the gun industry after the Parkland school massacre and student survivors called for tourism boycotts of their home state until gun control measures are enacted.

The latest companies to end their ties with the NRA were Delta and United Airlines, two of the three largest U.S.-based airlines.

On Saturday, both Delta and United said Saturday they no longer will offer discounted fares to NRA members to attend their annual meetings, and both have asked the gun rights group to remove any references to their companies from the NRA website.

Several companies have announced they are cutting or reducing ties with the NRA. Rental car company Hertz no longer will offer a discount program to NRA members and First National Bank of Omaha said it will not renew a co-branded credit card it has with the NRA. Most of the companies do promotional tie-ins with groups to spur customer loyalty to NRA members and do not receive money directly from the NRA.

The moves have come as petitions circulated online targeting companies offering discounts to NRA members on its website.

In an email Saturday, the NRA called the companies’ actions “a shameful display of political and civic cowardice” and said the loss of corporate discounts and other perks “will neither scare nor distract” NRA members.

“In time, these brands will be replaced by others who recognize that patriotism and determined commitment to constitutional freedoms are characteristics of a marketplace they very much want to serve,” the NRA statement said.

Meanwhile, one teen survivor of the Florida school shooting suggested Saturday on Twitter that tourists stay away from the state during spring break; he got immediate response on social media.

“Let’s make a deal,” David Hogg, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student who has been a major voice in the #neveragain movement, tweeted. “DO NOT come to Florida for spring break unless gun legislation is passed.”

Wendy Glaab, 60, of Fonthill, Ontario, Canada, was among the first to respond. “I, like many Canadians, travel to Florida from time to time to escape our winter. I can’t speak for others, but I will not be returning until meaningful gun control legislation is in place.”