School massacre victims launch FedEx boycott

The student survivors of the Majory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Florida are raising a battle cry to boycott all companies in affiliation with the National Rifle Association.

And a growing list of US companies are listening. 

FedEx is the latest company to feel the public pressure to part with the NRA, but has refused to divest.

Stoneman pupils David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez have taken to Twitter to rally support for boycotts against each company affiliated with the NRA, in an attempt to cut off the gun lobby’s support.

#BoycottFedEx was a trending topic today in an attempt to pressure the Tennessee-based company to part with the NRA, but it has refused.

Student activist: David Hogg, a student survivor of the Stoneman Douglas massacre in Florida is using his voice to encourage boycotts against companies associated with the NRA

He used Twitter to lead the boycott, demanding the packaging company divest from the gun lobby

He used Twitter to lead the boycott, demanding the packaging company divest from the gun lobby

Student Emma Gonzalez, also a survivor of the shoot, also used social media to rally support for the divestment movement, and thanks the companies that did sever ties

Student Emma Gonzalez, also a survivor of the shoot, also used social media to rally support for the divestment movement, and thanks the companies that did sever ties

The packaging company based in Tennessee and run by Republican CEO Fred Smith is now in the hot seat as it has refused to divest, despite a slew of other companies doing so

The packaging company based in Tennessee and run by Republican CEO Fred Smith is now in the hot seat as it has refused to divest, despite a slew of other companies doing so

Hogg rallied his Twitter followers to boycott FedEx and call in requesting the company divest from the gun lobby.

‘FedEx chairman is Fred Smith. Apparently he’s a huge republican donor. #BoycottFedEx,’ he said.   

FedEx has not changed their relationship with the NRA. The packaging company has not replied to Dailymail.com’s request for comment.   

More than two dozen companies have cut ties with the NRA, with airlines Delta and United Airlines being the latest ones to do so.

The airline companies announced they were cutting ties with the NRA, removing discounts for group members and removing the company names from the NRA website. 

But that’s not all the pupils seek to boycott. 

Hogg demanded spring break vacationers avoid flocking to his home state, until gun laws are reformed.

‘Let’s make a deal DO NOT come to Florida for spring break unless gun legislation is passed. These politicians won’t listen to us so maybe the’ll listen to the billion dollar tourism industry in FL. #neveragain (sic),’ he said. 

Hogg proposed students travel to Puerto Rico to stimulate the island’s recovering economy.

‘Better Idea: Spend your spring break in Puerto Rico, it’s a beautiful place with amazing people. They could really use the economic support that the government has failed to provide,’ he said. 

Hogg pointed towards the Republican tie between FedEx and the NRA

Hogg pointed towards the Republican tie between FedEx and the NRA

Journalist and author Kurt Eichenwald supported the divestment movement, ushering followers to use UPS as a FedEx alternative

Journalist and author Kurt Eichenwald supported the divestment movement, ushering followers to use UPS as a FedEx alternative

Twitter users shamed FedEx for supporting the gun lobby in the wake of the Florida massacre

Twitter users shamed FedEx for supporting the gun lobby in the wake of the Florida massacre

Hogg requested spring breakers skip a Florida trip this year until gun reform laws pass

Hogg requested spring breakers skip a Florida trip this year until gun reform laws pass

Support Puerto Rico: He posted that the money could be better invested in the recovery economy of the hurricane-battered island

Support Puerto Rico: He posted that the money could be better invested in the recovery economy of the hurricane-battered island

The American business drop out was incited by the heartbreaking shooting that took place on February 14 in Parkland, Florida that saw 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz armed with an AR-15 murder 14 children and three school staffers in a brutal killing spree.  

Coupled with the pressure for business to part ways with the NRA, is the demand for stricter gun control in the wake of the mass shooting.  

For a fourth consecutive day, companies listed on NRA site have dropped out of the partner deals.

According to a list by ThinkProgress, 18 out of 27 known and listed companies that partner with the NRA, have divested. The two airlines make a total of 20 companies.

The NRA released a statement on Saturday saying the drop in partners would not affect membership.

‘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,’ the statement said.

‘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,’ it said.

The NRA released a statement on Saturday saying that the loss in partnerships would not change anything for their members

The NRA released a statement on Saturday saying that the loss in partnerships would not change anything for their members

xecutive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre (pictured) spoke about the school shooting on Thursday as

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre (pictured) spoke about the school shooting on Thursday as growing number of US companies distance themselves from the lobby group

ThinkProgress, a news site owned by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, has been following the number of companies that have left the gun lobby's partnership

ThinkProgress, a news site owned by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, has been following the number of companies that have left the gun lobby’s partnership

On Saturday United and Delta Airlines announced that they will end their discounted rates for NRA members

On Saturday United and Delta Airlines announced that they will end their discounted rates for NRA members

The airlines join more than two dozen companies that have recently divested from the NRA

The airlines join more than two dozen companies that have recently divested from the NRA

The rental car company Hertz tweeted on Friday that it has notified the NRA that it is ending the lobby's discount program

The rental car company Hertz tweeted on Friday that it has notified the NRA that it is ending the lobby’s discount program

Insurer Chubb Ltd. said was ending participation in the NRA's gun-owner Carry Guard insurance program but it provided notice three months ago

Insurer Chubb Ltd. said was ending participation in the NRA’s gun-owner Carry Guard insurance program but it provided notice three months ago

The insurance company MetLife Inc. discontinued its discount program with the NRA on Friday

The insurance company MetLife Inc. discontinued its discount program with the NRA on Friday

First National Bank of Omaha, one of the nation's largest privately held banks, announced that it would not renew a co-branded Visa credit-card with the NRA

First National Bank of Omaha, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks, announced that it would not renew a co-branded Visa credit-card with the NRA

LIST OF COMPANIES THAT CUT TIES TO NRA:

  • Hertz
  • Chubb 
  • Met Life
  • Symantec
  • Teladoc
  • Simplisafe
  • Best Western
  • Wyndham Hotels
  • Alamo Rent A Car
  • National Rent A Car
  • Enterprise Rent A Car
  • First National Bank of Omaha
  • Delta Airlines
  • United Airlines 

On Friday car service Hertz, insurance company MetLife Inc., and software company Symantec Corp., which makes Norton Antivirus technology, ended partnerships with the NRA. 

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre said at the Conservative Political Action Conference  that those advocating for stricter gun control were exploiting the Florida shooting

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre said at the Conservative Political Action Conference that those advocating for stricter gun control were exploiting the Florida shooting

Insurer Chubb Ltd. said Friday it was ending participation in the NRA’s gun-owner Carry Guard insurance program, but it provided notice three months ago. The program that provided coverage for people involved in gun-related incidents or accidents had been under scrutiny by regulators over marketing issues.

Those defections arrived a day after the car rental company Enterprise Holdings, which also owns Alamo and National, said it was cutting off discounts for NRA members. 

First National Bank of Omaha, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks, announced that it would not renew a co-branded Visa credit-card with the NRA.

Nearly two dozen corporations nationwide offer incentives to NRA members, according to ThinkProgress.com, a news site owned by the Center for American Progress Action Fund. 

Amazon.com Inc and other online streaming platforms are also facing demands to drop the online video channel NRATV, featuring programming produced by the group.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, founded after 20 first-graders were shot and killed at a school in Connecticut in December 2012, sent letters to Apple Inc, AT&T Inc , Amazon, Alphabet Inc’s Google and Roku Inc on Friday, asking them to drop NRATV from their products. None of the companies immediately responded to requests for comment on the letters.

#BoycottNRA was the second most trending topic on Twitter

#BoycottNRA was the second most trending topic on Twitter

Comedian Tommy Campbell applauded the boycott but called on politicians to follow suit

Comedian Tommy Campbell applauded the boycott but called on politicians to follow suit

There was also plenty of backlash on Twitter in response to the NRA boycott 

There was also plenty of backlash on Twitter in response to the NRA boycott 

Some supporters of the gun lobby rushed to join the NRA in response to the calls for a boycott

Some supporters of the gun lobby rushed to join the NRA in response to the calls for a boycott

‘We have been just disgusted by NRATV since its beginning,’ Shannon Watts, founder of the Moms Demand Action group, told Reuters. 

‘It really propagates dangerous misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric. 

‘It tries to pit Americans against one another, all in an attempt to further their agenda of selling guns.’  

Hogg, one of the outspoken student survivors of last week’s attack who launched the #NeverAgain anti-gun violence movement, said the students would target any company with ties to the NRA, in addition to lawmakers who accept donations.

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said in a blistering speech delivered on Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference that those advocating for stricter gun control are exploiting the Florida shooting which killed 17 people, mostly high-school students.

‘Evil walks among us and God help us if we don’t harden our schools and protect our kids,’ LaPierre said.

‘The whole idea from some of our opponents that armed security makes us less safe is completely ridiculous.’

Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg, who launched the #NeverAgain anti-gun violence movement, said the students would target any company with ties to the NRA

Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg, who launched the #NeverAgain anti-gun violence movement, said the students would target any company with ties to the NRA

President Donald Trump has aligned himself with the NRA, suggesting some teachers could be armed so that they could fire on any attacker.

American corporations are moving in the other direction.

On Friday, a large Wall Street money management firm said that it wanted to engage with major weapons manufacturers about what comes next.

Blackrock Inc., which manages $6trillion in assets, has become one of the largest stakeholders gun manufacturers like Sturm Ruger & Co., American Outdoor Brands Corp. and Vista Outdoor Inc. through indirect investments. 

The money is placed in index funds, so Blackrock cannot sell shares of individual companies within the index. Its fund clients invest in indexes that might contain companies like Ruger.

On Friday, spokesman Ed Sweeney said Blackrock will be ‘engaging with weapons manufacturers and distributors to understand their response to recent events.’

Blackrock, through indirect investments, holds a 16.18 percent stake in Sturm Ruger, an 11.91 per cent stake in Vista, and a 10.5 percent stake in American Outdoor, according to the data firm Factset.

Shares of gun companies mostly fell in trading Friday.



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