The National Rifle Association (NRA) backlash continues to grow in the wake of the nation’s deadliest high school shooting in history. The latest companies to sever ties with the pro-guns group include Delta and United. Of course, this doesn’t mean members of the NRA can’t fly via these airlines, but they will no longer be eligible for group discounts.
Prior to this decision, card-holding NRA members received up to 10 percent off on all United and Delta flights. Per the Independent, Delta has also asked the NRA to scrub any mention of their airline or the previously offered discount from the group’s website.
Activists Reach Out to Major U.S. Companies
Amazon, AT&T, Google, Apple, and Roku’s streaming divisions all received a letter on February 23, 2018, from the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. This latest activist action calls for these major companies to sever ties with the NRA by dropping their NRATV streaming content. There has been no response yet, but it seems highly likely that at least a few of these companies will give in to the growing consumer demand.
No More Insurance Policies to Cover Shooting Related Legal Fees
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Chubb Ltd will no longer underwrite a controversial NRA-branded insurance policy. This option formerly enabled insured members to get their legal expenses covered in the event of a self-defense shooting.
Numerous Other Companies Cut Ties with the NRA
At least 15 large, well-known businesses have cut ties with the NRA as a result of 17 people being murdered on February 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. ABC News indicated that the First National Bank of Omaha helped spark this trend by making the decision to stop offering an NRA-branded credit card .
Other major U.S. companies that will no longer offer an NRA discount include Alamo, Avis, Best Western, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, MetLife, National, Symantec, TrueCar, and Wyndham Hotels.
Support for Gun Reform Reaches an All-Time High Nationwide
The NRA has been mostly impervious to boycott efforts in the past, but the momentum appears to have swung toward activists who support gun reform. This has no doubt been aided by recent polls that show a tremendous shift toward a preference for stringent gun control laws. In fact, a survey by Quinnipiac University discovered that 97 percent of Americans want universal background checks. Additionally, 83 percent support mandatory waiting periods, 67 percent back the idea of banning assault weapons altogether, and 66 percent want stricter overall gun laws.
To put these numbers into perspective, only 47 percent of Americans supported stricter gun laws in 2015. Interestingly, 97 percent of current gun owners also approve of making the switch to universal background checks. The “good guy with a gun” theory seems to be losing its hold too as 59 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. would become less safe if more people started carrying a gun.
Getting firm NRA membership numbers is difficult, but the organization is believed to have the financial backing of no more than 7 percent of all U.S. gun owners. This number is very low in relation to the amount of lobbying power the NRA has wielded in recent years. The 2018 election cycle will help showcase whether or not current public sentiment translates into a long-term national ideology shift regarding gun rights.
