NRA Retaliates As Dozens of US Companies Severe Ties With Gun-Lobbying Group

Following the recent South Florida shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed, several U.S. companies have severed their ties with the National Rifle Association, NRA, in an effort to lobby for gun control measures. 

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Companies like Symantec Corp, MetLife, American National Insurance Company, Hertz car rentals, SimpliSafe, Chubb Ltd, and the First National Bank of Omaha, along with hotel chains Best Western and the Wyndham Hotels, have cut ties with the NRA on the heels of the #BoycottNRA social media campaign and an online petition urging companies to discontinue the NRA membership benefits program that helps the gun lobbying group gain members. 

"These corporate partnerships not only help the NRA attract and retain members, but also provide funds for the NRA that help fuel its extremist agenda. It’s time to tell companies that it is no longer acceptable for them to be associated with the NRA," the online petition noted. 

"Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA. As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card," one of the country's largest privately-held banks, First National Bank of Omaha, said in a statement. 

Both Delta and the United Airlines also announced Saturday that they will be ending their discount programs with the NRA members. 

"Delta is reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel program," the airline tweeted. "We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website."  

Enterprise Holdings Inc, also said in a statement Friday, "All three of our brands have ended the discount for NRA members. This change will be effective March 26."

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"TrueCar is ending its car buying service relationship with the NRA effective February 28, 2018," the Santa Monica, California-based automotive pricing and information website also tweeted Friday night. 

The NRA slammed the companies who have cut off ties with the gun-lobbying group, calling it a "shameful display of political and civic cowardice." 

"The law-abiding members of the NRA had nothing at all to do with the failure of that school’s security preparedness, the failure of America’s mental health system, the failure of the National Instant Check System or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement," the NRA said in a statement Saturday.  

"Despite that, some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice," adding, "loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend ... individual freedoms."

Ignoring the plea from activists for banning assault rifles, Trump, during a White House press conference Thursday, argued that shootings like the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School could be prevented by repealing the federal law banning guns at the nation’s schools so that teachers could then be armed.