Amid gun control furor, companies cut ties with NRA
Analyst doubts there’ll be widespread boycotts
Several businesses with ties to the National Rifle Association broke with the group amid mounting pressure from gun control proponents after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla.
MetLife said it would stop providing discounts for auto and home insurance. “We value all our customers but have decided to end our discount program with the NRA,” the company told USA TODAY in a statement.
Cyber security firm Symantec, which offered NRA discounts on its LifeLock identity theft protection service and Norton anti-virus software, told USA TODAY on Friday that it stopped its discount program with the NRA.
SimpliSafe, a home security services company, ended its NRA promotions. “We have discontinued our existing relationship with the NRA,” CEO Chad Laurans said in a statement.
Rental car companies Hertz, Enterprise and Avis Budget ended their NRA discounts.
The latest companies to end their ties with the NRA were Delta and United Airlines, two of the three largest U.S.based airlines. Both said Saturday they will no longer 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.
First National Bank of Omaha was among the first to ditch the NRA when it announced Thursday that it would end a Visa credit card it had offered with NRA branding. It cited a deluge of customer complaints.
The bank’s breakup with the NRA put an end to a card that offered 5% back on gas and sporting goods purchases, according to an NRA blog, which boasted that “every time you pack up and head out on a hunt or to the range … you’re putting money back in your pocket.”
“Banks and other companies are sensitive to being on the wrong side of a social media campaign, which can spread pretty quickly these days,” said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business professor.
Still, Gordon said a widespread movement against NRA-affiliated companies was “unlikely” because most consumers don’t change their behavior based on political issues.
The NRA did not respond to a request for comment. CEO Wayne LaPierre told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday that “as usual, the opportunists wasted not one second to exploit tragedy for gain.” Gun control advocates and the media “hate the NRA, they hate the Second Amendment, they hate individual freedom,” he said.