“A shameful display of political and civic cowardice.”
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has criticised the companies who have severed links with the association in the wake of the tragic school shooting in Florida earlier this month.
In the past week, a number of airlines (United Airlines and Delta), rental car companies (Avis, Budget, Enterprise), hotel chains (Best Western, Wyndham) and a host of other companies brought an end to their association with the NRA that had previously included benefits and discounts for NRA members.
The
#boycottNRA hashtag on Twitter, meanwhile, has also gained traction on social media in the wake of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in Florida, in which 17 people lost their lives.
In a statement on Saturday, the NRA lashed out at the companies who have severed ties with the association, accusing them of “a shameful display of political and civic cowardice”.
Addressing the Florida shooting, the statement absolves the “law-abiding members of the NRA” of blame and instead points to “the failure of that school’s security preparedness, the failure of America’s mental health system, the failure of the National Instant Check System or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement”.
You can read the NRA statement in full below.
The more than five million law-abiding members of the National Rifle Association have enjoyed discounts and cost-saving programs from many American corporations that have partnered with the NRA to expand member benefits.
Since the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, a number of companies have decided to sever their relationship with the NRA, in an effort to punish our members who are doctors, farmers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters
, nurses, shop owners and school teachers that live in every American community. We are men and women who represent every American ethnic group, every one of the world’s religions and every form of political commitment.
The law-abiding members of the NRA had nothing at all to do with the failure of that school’s security preparedness, the failure of America’s mental health system, the failure of the National Instant Check System or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement.
Despite that, some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice. 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.
Let it be absolutely clear. The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world.
