One By One, Companies Cut Ties With The NRA
- Thread starter The Barbarian
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George Affleck
TOL Subscriber
Sun-Times Editorial Board
Here’s a company you might want to do more business with:
United Airlines.
If you agree with us that our nation’s gun laws make mass murder too easy, reward the Chicago-based airline for cutting ties with the National Rifle Association.
EDITORIAL
Here’s another company you might want to favor:
Delta Air Lines.
Like United, Delta no longer will offer NRA members discounted rates.
And here are a few more companies you may want to support for siding with sanity in the last week, all of them having cut marketing ties with the NRA:
Enterprise Car Rentals, Hertz, Avis/Budget, True Car, Wyndham Hotels, MetLife, Starkey Hearing, Paramount RX, Symantec Corp., Allied Van Lines, SimpliSafe home security systems, Chubb Ltd., Best Western and the First National Bank of Omaha.
In the days since the Feb. 14 shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, in which 17 students and staffers were killed, a string of corporations have begun to cut ties with the NRA.
Whether they’re doing what’s right out of principle or to protect their profits — bowing to pressure from a growing “Boycott NRA” campaign — doesn’t much matter in the end. They’re doing it and should be rewarded. Other companies will catch on.
We don’t know if a corporate boycott of the NRA, which is funded largely by gun makers, will do serious damage to the organization’s bottom line. But our hope is that it will further erode the credibility of an organization that has grown ever more politically extreme and irrational.
The NRA effectively stopped being a bipartisan organization six years ago after 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary schools in Newtown, Conn. As the Washington Post reports, Democratic politicians at that point deserted the NRA when it resisted calls for tighter gun laws.
Since then, the NRA has been a far-right subsidiary of the Republican Party. Or, perhaps more accurately, the GOP has been a subsidiary of the NRA.
Corporate pressure works. Let’s keep it up.
It was corporate pressure that forced North Carolina legislators in 2017 to repeal a controversial law that required transgender people to use the bathrooms corresponding with their gender at birth. Change the law, companies such as Google and Microsoft said, or we’ll do our business and hold our conventions elsewhere.
It was corporate pressure, by the likes of Apple and Eli Lilly, that forced Indiana legislators and then-Gov. Mike Pence in 2015 to roll back a “religious freedom” law that amounted to a license for businesses to discriminate against gay and transgender people.
The NRA grows nuttier by the day. An organization that once was devoted to the mainstream rights of deer hunters now thrashes about in the shadows of alt-right conspiracy theories. In a speech last week, Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the NRA, had this to say about anybody who favors stricter gun laws:
“If they seize power, if these so-called European socialists take over the House and the Senate, and God forbid they get the White House again, our American freedoms could be lost and our country will be changed forever.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/editorial-hit-the-nra-where-it-hurts/
What do doctors do when they can't cure a disorder?
Right. They try to minimize the symptoms, it's called "palliative medicine" and it works.
Palliative care (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) is specialized medical care for people with serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.
https://getpalliativecare.org/whatis/
You mean, that even if we can't just anticipate every crazy person, that doesn't mean we have to make it easy for them to get assault rifles with large magazines and rapid-fire capabilities?
Yep. We don't have to do that.
You missed it, as usual-you've were drinking a few Natty Lights, when you posted the above. It does not bother me,....just the opposite...
Later, Dumley, as you are beginning to bore me.
john w writes:
Ban the add campaign, due to reference to "heaven."
Barbarian asks:
Why does a reference to heaven bother you, even if it's a Japanese company with a different notion of heaven? And shouldn't the market determine whether or not it's a bad idea for them to do so?
Bad idea to converse when you're drinking, but you're probably beginning to realize that.
A Guinness seems to be O.K. when I'm editing photos, but the curve falls off pretty fast after the first one. But you're dodging the question. Why do you think the ad should be banned?
Granted, the corporation being Japanese, were probably thinking of a different kind of heaven, but you were unaware that Southland is owned by a Japanese company, so how could that bother you?
You're Shinto/Buddhist? Maybe you need to take a break before you get upset and start calling people names.
Oops. Too late. Sorry about that.
"Bore" isn't a synonym for "embarrass."
Ban the add campaign, due to reference to "heaven."
Barbarian asks:
Why does a reference to heaven bother you, even if it's a Japanese company with a different notion of heaven? And shouldn't the market determine whether or not it's a bad idea for them to do so?
Bad idea to converse when you're drinking, but you're probably beginning to realize that.
A Guinness seems to be O.K. when I'm editing photos, but the curve falls off pretty fast after the first one. But you're dodging the question. Why do you think the ad should be banned?
Granted, the corporation being Japanese, were probably thinking of a different kind of heaven, but you were unaware that Southland is owned by a Japanese company, so how could that bother you?
You're Shinto/Buddhist? Maybe you need to take a break before you get upset and start calling people names.
Oops. Too late. Sorry about that.
"Bore" isn't a synonym for "embarrass."
You missed it:
Sober up. Learn how to quote properly-it took me a while to figger it out, Jethro, but you can do it. But do it sober.
Oh it was a straw man. You came up with a dumb idea, and projected it on others. O.K.
Well, that's commendable; alcoholism is a difficult addiction to break. My congratulations.
In the interest of ending this derail, I will now give you the last word. Be clever, now.
"Hostility is a weapon only in the hands of your opponent." Kee Lo Nee
The NRA came out with their same old tired rhetoric yesterday and then a funny thing happened. A few companies called BS. Shortly after Wayne LaPierre spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) where it seemed he was trying to sell more guns in the wake of the Parkland school shooting, companies who worked with the NRA began ending their relationships.
Losing money could be what leads to real change. If you recall even after Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly was accused of sexual harassment the network re-signed him to a new contract, but when sponsors started backing out suddenly he was out. It’s a cycle, public outcry leads to a loss of advertisers or partners, then a company actually starts listening.
According to Bloomberg, Kevin Langin, a spokesman for First National Bank of Omaha said, “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.”
...
And attacks on the media may not be helping the NRA either. It may have worked for Donald Trump in the past, but a comment by Thursday by NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch clearly went too far. She remarked that “Many in legacy media love mass shootings…Crying white mothers are ratings gold.”
The NRA, like a cornered rat, turns vicious. Nothing is too low for them.
Losing money could be what leads to real change. If you recall even after Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly was accused of sexual harassment the network re-signed him to a new contract, but when sponsors started backing out suddenly he was out. It’s a cycle, public outcry leads to a loss of advertisers or partners, then a company actually starts listening.
According to Bloomberg, Kevin Langin, a spokesman for First National Bank of Omaha said, “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.”
...
And attacks on the media may not be helping the NRA either. It may have worked for Donald Trump in the past, but a comment by Thursday by NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch clearly went too far. She remarked that “Many in legacy media love mass shootings…Crying white mothers are ratings gold.”
The NRA, like a cornered rat, turns vicious. Nothing is too low for them.
One By One, Companies Cut Ties With The NRA
The NRA would have been much farther ahead if it had supported the semi-automatic weapon ban!
Assault style semi-automatic rifles represent a small % of guns sales and are the weapon of choice for mentally disturbed mass shooters who generate most of the headlines!
By sticking to their hardline approach, the NRA on its infinite wisdom, has effectively alienated much of the younger generation - a fact that has not been lost on major gun retailers and corporations.
George Affleck
TOL Subscriber
Can you show us the data on that? My guess is that NRA members have fewer than average cases of violence, but law enforcement probably never records that kind of thing, and apparently, the NRA never collects such data.
How would you know?
How would you know?
The good guy with a gun gambit has failed so habitually it's a wonder anyone attempts to use it.
Meanwhile, laws that impact the means by which mass murder can be easily committed impact the number of mass murders by rational necessity.
Meanwhile, laws that impact the means by which mass murder can be easily committed impact the number of mass murders by rational necessity.
Meanwhile, more evidence that the NRA is rapidly losing influence:
Florida governor breaks with NRA to sign new gun regulations
Florida Gov. Rick Scott defied his longtime allies at the National Rifle Association on Friday to sign into law a new set of gun regulations, more than three weeks after a school shooting claimed 17 lives in his state.
“I am going to do what I think are common-sense solutions,” the Republican governor said after the signing. “I think this is the beginning. There is now going to be a real conversation about how we make our schools safe.”
The law, passed by Republican legislative leaders and a number of Democrats, marks a major shift for a state known as a laboratory for gun rights legislation, including legal protections for people who use guns in self-defense and an expansive concealed-carry law.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/09/florida-governor-breaks-with-nra-to-sign-new-gun-regulations/
Florida governor breaks with NRA to sign new gun regulations
Florida Gov. Rick Scott defied his longtime allies at the National Rifle Association on Friday to sign into law a new set of gun regulations, more than three weeks after a school shooting claimed 17 lives in his state.
“I am going to do what I think are common-sense solutions,” the Republican governor said after the signing. “I think this is the beginning. There is now going to be a real conversation about how we make our schools safe.”
The law, passed by Republican legislative leaders and a number of Democrats, marks a major shift for a state known as a laboratory for gun rights legislation, including legal protections for people who use guns in self-defense and an expansive concealed-carry law.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/09/florida-governor-breaks-with-nra-to-sign-new-gun-regulations/
Rumor: The Dick Act passed by Congress in 1903 'invalidates all gun control laws' in the U.S.
, FALSE
The Militia Act of 1903 was benchmark legislation that repealed the antiquated Militia Act of 1792 and converted the volunteer militia into the National Guard. In simplest terms, Guard units received increased funding and equipment, and in return, they were to conform to federal standards for training and organization within five years. The law recognized two classes of militia; the Organized Militia (National Guard) under joint federal-State control and the Reserve Militia, the mass of 18-45 year old males otherwise available for military service. The Dick Act required Guardsmen to attend twenty-four drill periods per year and five days of summer camp. For the first time, Guardsmen received pay for summer camp but not for drill periods. The law called for Guard units to conduct maneuvers with the Army and to receive training assistance and formal inspections from Regulars. The Guard was subject to federal callups for nine months, though its service was restricted to within U.S. borders. The participation of Guard members in national callups was no longer discretionary; any soldier not reporting to his armory during a federal mobilization was subject to court martial.
It is hard to overstate the significance of the Dick Act for the National Guard. The practices of the volunteer militia as a self-supporting and largely independent entity gave way to a new military force with significant federal funding and subject to the
administrative controls of the War Department.
...
Nothing in the Dick Act or any other item of U.S. legislation states that all members of the unorganized militia have an “absolute personal right to keep and bear arms of any type.” The term “unorganized militia” simply refers to a subset of private individuals (i.e., men between the ages of 17 and 45 who are not part of the National Guard or the Naval Militia), and those persons are subject to the same legislative limitations on firearm ownership and possession as any other private individuals. The existence and enforcement of modern laws limiting the ownership of certain types of firearms is prima facie evidence that those laws have not been “invalidated” by a piece of legislation enacted back in 1903. (And even if such a claim were true, then the unfettered right to keep and bear arms would not apply to men over the age of 45 or to any women, as neither of those groups falls within the legal definition of “unorganized militia.”)
...
No legislation is immune from being repealed, and in fact much of the content of the Dick Act has effectively been repealed through the passage of subsequent modifying legislation such as the Militia Act of 1908, the National Defense Act of 1916, and the National Defense Act of 1920.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dick-act-of-1902/
The Militia Act of 1903 was benchmark legislation that repealed the antiquated Militia Act of 1792 and converted the volunteer militia into the National Guard. In simplest terms, Guard units received increased funding and equipment, and in return, they were to conform to federal standards for training and organization within five years. The law recognized two classes of militia; the Organized Militia (National Guard) under joint federal-State control and the Reserve Militia, the mass of 18-45 year old males otherwise available for military service. The Dick Act required Guardsmen to attend twenty-four drill periods per year and five days of summer camp. For the first time, Guardsmen received pay for summer camp but not for drill periods. The law called for Guard units to conduct maneuvers with the Army and to receive training assistance and formal inspections from Regulars. The Guard was subject to federal callups for nine months, though its service was restricted to within U.S. borders. The participation of Guard members in national callups was no longer discretionary; any soldier not reporting to his armory during a federal mobilization was subject to court martial.
It is hard to overstate the significance of the Dick Act for the National Guard. The practices of the volunteer militia as a self-supporting and largely independent entity gave way to a new military force with significant federal funding and subject to the
administrative controls of the War Department.
...
Nothing in the Dick Act or any other item of U.S. legislation states that all members of the unorganized militia have an “absolute personal right to keep and bear arms of any type.” The term “unorganized militia” simply refers to a subset of private individuals (i.e., men between the ages of 17 and 45 who are not part of the National Guard or the Naval Militia), and those persons are subject to the same legislative limitations on firearm ownership and possession as any other private individuals. The existence and enforcement of modern laws limiting the ownership of certain types of firearms is prima facie evidence that those laws have not been “invalidated” by a piece of legislation enacted back in 1903. (And even if such a claim were true, then the unfettered right to keep and bear arms would not apply to men over the age of 45 or to any women, as neither of those groups falls within the legal definition of “unorganized militia.”)
...
No legislation is immune from being repealed, and in fact much of the content of the Dick Act has effectively been repealed through the passage of subsequent modifying legislation such as the Militia Act of 1908, the National Defense Act of 1916, and the National Defense Act of 1920.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dick-act-of-1902/
Which I'm not arguing against or to abolish, and which the Court that has been pretty friendly to liberal reading on the point reminds us is not a carte blanche for any weapon you can thing about carrying. And that is actually the point for most of us speaking to what technology has done to guns and why the reasonable line needs to be redrawn.
Or, the weapons I favor and argue should be promoted under that amendment are completely in accord with those the Founders found satisfactory for protecting the right in every meaningful sense and those weapons I'm opposed to have nothing for them but the ability to kill a lot of people in a hurry. Since we have a standing army and national guard it's time for the conversation that can save concert goers, church goers, and school children without repealing the right to bear arms.
The Dick Act has been dealt with prior. So...
Sure. They also believed in good nutrition, medicine, and the law after their fashion. I'm pretty sure Castro was a fan of air conditioning and Coke products too. Let me know when you get the point.
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