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We had submissions from three Soylentils with different takes on the NRA (National Rifle Association) and the public response in the wake of an attack at a Parkland, Florida high school.
Public Outcry Convinces National Companies to Cut Ties with NRA
Common Dreams reports:
In the latest sign that the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida tragedy may be playing out differently than the fallout from other mass shootings, several national companies have cut ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA).
[Car rental companies] Alamo, Enterprise, and National--all owned by Enterprise Holdings--announced late on [February 22] that they would end discounts for the NRA's five million members. Symantec, the security software giant that owns Lifelock and Norton, ended its discount program on Friday as well.
The First National Bank of Omaha also said it would stop issuing its NRA-branded Visa credit cards, emblazoned with the group's logo and called "the Official Credit Card of the NRA". The institution is the largest privately-held bank in the U.S., with locations in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota.
Additional coverage on TheHill, MarketWatch, Independent and Politico.
The NRA Just Awarded FCC Chair Ajit Pai With a Gun for His 'Courage'
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai joined the pack at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday alongside fellow Republican commissioners Michael O'Rielly and Brendan Carr—the architects of the recent order repealing net neutrality protections passed in the Obama era.
Upon taking the stage, it was announced that Pai was receiving an award from the National Rifle Association: a handmade Kentucky long gun and plaque known as the "Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award."
https://gizmodo.com/the-nra-just-awarded-fcc-chair-ajit-pai-with-a-gun-for-1823273450
These Companies are Sticking by the NRA
Fallout continues from the mass murder in Florida. The National Rifle Association is taking it up the wazoo. A national boycott is emerging. If you are old enough, you will remember that this is what brought down Apartheid in South Africa.
From the Huffington Post:
In what may be a pivotal moment for American gun law reform, the National Rifle Association has become the object of intense pushback from anti-gun activists and survivors of last week's mass shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 dead.
All the attention prompted the gun-rights group to break from its usual strategy of keeping quiet after mass gun deaths. NRA officials have gone on the attack to rail against the "politicization" of a tragedy, and going so far as to suggest that members of the media "love mass shootings" because of the ratings they supposedly bring.
The uproar has once again presented companies affiliated with the NRA, and its powerful pro-gun lobby, with a question: to cut ties, or to continue a relationship with a large but controversial group?
The NRA partners with dozens of businesses to spread its pro-gun message and provide discounts to its members, who number 5 million, according to the group. But this week, some companies have begun to jump ship.
Facing pressure from consumers, the First National Bank of Omaha said Thursday it would stop issuing NRA-branded Visa credit cards after its contract with the group expires. Enterprise Holdings, which operates the rental car brands Enterprise, National and Alamo, says it will end its discount program for NRA members next month, along with Avis and Budget. Hertz is out, too.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @05:12AM (1 child)
Ummm, I can't be bothered to look it up again but in the past the NRA has been opposed to restrictions on the 2A rights of mentally ill people. Since you seem to be stepping up to defend 2A rights, are you now advocating that guns be taken away from mentally ill people? If so, I think that could be a significant step forward, assuming that the majority of other 2A advocates feel similarly.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday February 26 2018, @06:35AM
Mentally ill is not good enough. For starters, mental illness doesn't mean that one is incapable of responsibly handling firearms. It varies in severity from mild cases that are basically self-treated and temporary to people who yes, shouldn't be allowed anywhere near firearms. The general category affects too many people [newsweek.com] (the article cites estimates ranging from 20-30% of the US population). I don't see a good reason to block roughly 80 or so million people just because one feels uncomfortable about mental illness.
It's too easy to game, which is probably the source of the NRA's opposition. If authorities want to harass someone who owns firearms, declaring them to be mentally ill is a natural tactic, ripe for abuse. And who knows? Maybe the stress and humiliation of having to defend oneself from such tireless bureaucratic mendacity would be enough to trigger or worsen mental illness (since that's not good for mental health), turning these games too often into self-fulfilling prophecies.
Finally, being able to suspend rights for generic mental illness is a terrible precedent. What would be next? Free speech? Your right to vote? Just look at the research efforts to cast various sorts of political disagreement as mental illnesses or deviant behavior today (recent example [soylentnews.org]).
I do see times when firearms should be removed, such as someone who is found to be mentally incompetent, someone posting their sincere massacre fantasies on blogs, or someone acting in a grossly or criminally negligent way with firearms. But sorry, I don't buy that we have to interfere with the rights of tens of millions of law-abiding owners of firearms just because there are a few bad people out there.