More Companies Respond to Boycott Threats Over NRA Ties

MetLife, Symantec, Best Western, Wyndham Hotels distance themselves from NRA
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 23, 2018 2:28 PM CST
More Companies Distance Themselves From NRA
In this 2012 file photo, Illinois gun owners and supporters fill out NRA applications while participating in an Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day convention.   (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

An online push to boycott companies affiliated with the NRA in the wake of the Parkland shooting appears to be having its intended effect. As previously reported, First National Bank of Omaha and Enterprise Holdings—which encompasses rental-car outfits Enterprise, Alamo, and National—cut their ties with the NRA on Thursday. Business Insider reports Best Western and Wyndham Hotels are now making it very clear they are no longer offering discounts to NRA members. Both hotel chains have tweeted dozens of times that they are no longer affiliated with the NRA in response to boycott threats. Wyndham Hotels says it stopped offering a 10% discount to NRA members in 2017. Best Western offered a discount to members as recently as 2016; it's unclear when that discount ended.

Meanwhile, MetLife says it will stop providing discounts on auto and home insurance to NRA members, USA Today reports. "We value all our customers but have decided to end our discount program with the NRA," the company says. Symantec likewise announced it would end NRA discounts on its identity theft protection service and Norton anti-virus software. "Banks and other companies are sensitive to being on the wrong side of a social media campaign, which can spread pretty quickly these days," a University of Michigan business professor says. However, the Washington Post states losing business partnerships is unlikely to convince the NRA to change its policies, as it remains very well funded. Other businesses affiliated with the NRA include FedEx, Avis, and Hertz. (More NRA stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X