Overview

#BoycottNRA is a hashtag used to pressure corporate partners of the Nation Rifle Associate (NRA) to drop their support in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings.

Background

On February 14th, 2018, suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz allegedly perpetrated a mass shooting a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 15. Over the next few days, the debate around gun control, particularly the sale of the AR-15 assault rifle, grew in the United States media, public and government.

Six days later, on February 20th, ThinkProgress^[1] published a list of companies that support the NRA through discounts and special offers.

Development

Dana Loesch CNN Townhall

On February 22nd, CNN held a townhall event in Sunrise, Florida, in which survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting could ask questions of local, state and federal representatives as well as NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch about gun control. During the event, Stoneman Douglas High School junior Cameron Kasky asked Senator Marco Rubio if he would turn down money from the NRA (shown below, left).^[2] Additionally, Stoneman Douglas student Emma Gonzalez asked Loesch about the NRA's position on gun control laws (shown below, right).

Online Reaction

On February 23rd, Twitter^[3] user @MichaelSkolnik tweeted, "The following companies still offer discounts to @NRA members. Please tell them nicely to end their partnership:
@Hertz @Avis @Budget @TrueCar @Life_Line @NortonOnline @alliedvl @northAmericanVL @SimpliSafe @Manageurid @eHealth @Teladoc @FedEx @LifeLock @WildApricot #BoycottNRA." The post (shown below) received more than 19,000 retweets and 27,000 likes in three days.

The following day, Redditor ^[4] Magnious posted "Why are companies ending partnerships with the NRA?" in the /r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit. The post received more than 2,400 points (85% upvoted) and 150 comments in two days.

On February 26th, Stoneman Douglas High School student and activist David Hogg tweeted,^[8] "So how else should we pressure @FedEx to end their relationship with the NRA? Same question for Amazon also I've been trying to cancel my prime membership along with everyone else that doesn't want to support @NRATV how should we go about that? @amazon" The tweet (shown below, left) received more than 1,400 retweets and 5,000 likes in 24 hours. Later that day, he tweeted,^[9] "Sell FedEx stock! If they wanna stick with NRA we'll stick with @usps or @UPS." The tweet (shown below, left) received more than 2,100 retweet and 7,900 likes in 24 hours.

Corporate Responses

On February 22nd, 2018, the First National Bank of Omaha tweeted,^[5] "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." The post (shown below, left) received more than 830 retweets and 3,700 likes in four days.

Two days later, on February 24, the official Twitter^[6] account for Delta airlines tweeted, "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. We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website." The tweet (shown below, right) received more than 93,000 retweets and 471,000 likes in two days.

NRA Response

On February 24th, ABC News tweeted^[7] a response from the NRA regarding the boycott. In the statement (shown below), they say, "Some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice." The post received more than 1,300 retweets and 2,600 likes in two days.

Search Interest

External References