Delta Airlines is ending its discount contract with the National Rifle Association. Avis, Hertz, and Enterprise will stop offering NRA members discounts on rental cars. The First National Bank of Omaha will stop issuing NRA-branded credit cards.
These companies and more have pulled their support from the gun advocacy group in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. If history is any guide, their moves could have a lasting effect.
Calls for companies to sever ties to the group began taking off on social media under the #BoycottNRA hashtag soon after the February 14 shooting, according to the Washington Post. Among the first to respond was First National Bank of Omaha, which announced on Thursday that “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.” While the NRA has faced public pressure in the past, this the first time it’s been hit with such a broad boycott, according to Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA and the author of the book Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.
Something similar happened last year, when more than 80 brands pulled their ads from The O’Reilly Factor after sexual harassment complaints against host Bill O’Reilly became public. The advertising boycott wasn’t the only factor behind his ouster from Fox News, but it was a major one. Faced with an exodus of advertiser money, the network that had been protecting O’Reilly for years finally decided to cut ties.
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