Organizational Governance

Following Parkland, Growing Number of Brands Sever Ties with the NRA

Following the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on February 14 that left 17 people dead, businesses are using their influence to drive change. Over the past several weeks, an onslaught of corporations ranging from Delta to Symantec and Enterprise have announced that they will be cutting ties with gun advocacy group National Rifle Association (NRA).

By Sustainable Brands | Published 8 years ago | About a 2 minute read

Image: David Levêque/Unsplash

Following the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on February 14 that left 17 people dead, businesses are using their influence to drive change. Over the past several weeks, an onslaught of corporations ranging from Delta to Symantec and Enterprise have announced that they will be cutting ties with gun advocacy group National Rifle Association (NRA).

One of the benefits of NRA membership is access to discounts on insurance, car rentals, travel etc. To distance themselves from the NRA, many companies offering these discounts are severing ties. The growing list of companies includes The First National Bank of Omaha, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo, National Car Rental, Symantec, Hertz, MetLife, SimpliSafe, Avis, Budget Rent a Car, Allied, North American, TrueCar, Delta, United Airlines, Paramount RX and Starkey.

The departure of these brands has largely been attributed to mounting pressure from consumers and activists to cut ties. The hashtags #BoycottNRA and #NRAbloodmoney have also begun trending on Twitter, shedding light on the companies affiliated with the organization and urging businesses to enact change.

ThinkProgress, a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization founded by the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP Action), also published a list of corporations offering incentives to NRA members early last week. It asked companies on the list if they would continue their relationships with the NRA. Since its publication, the majority of those companies have parted ways with the organization. Companies such as Apple, Amazon and Google are currently under pressure to drop the NRA’s streaming channel, NRAtv.

— Hertz (@Hertz) February 23, 2018

The statement added: “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.”

However, in an era where purpose-beyond-profit is all, sticking to one’s convictions — even if unpopular with some — is the key to long-term success. Failing to acknowledge the current shifts taking place in the economic landscape and society as a whole, however, is likely to have disastrous consequences.