FedEx defiantly refuses to cut ties with the NRA as pressure builds and boycotts loom
- FedEx has not cut ties with the NRA, despite boycott threats and pressure from gun-control activists.
- More than a dozen companies have cut ties with the NRA following an online boycott campaign.
- FedEx has not publicly commented about its decision to continue an NRA discount program, despite school shooting survivors and celebrities speaking out against the company.
As brands cut ties with the NRA, one notable company is holding out.
Last week, people took to social media to pressure companies that offer special deals to NRA members to cut ties with the gun-rights association. While companies including United, Hertz, and MetLife have cut ties with the National Rifle Association, FedEx has refused to do so.
Now, gun-rights activists are doubling down on their efforts.
"So how else should we pressure @FedEx to end their relationship with the NRA?" tweeted David Hogg, a survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting who has emerged as a leading voice on gun control in response to the tragedy.
Celebrities and well-known personalities including Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Rosie O'Donnell, Billy Eichner, and Zach Braff tweeted to support the FedEx boycott over the weekend.
The company's social media accounts have been flooded with boycott threats.
On Monday morning, The New York Times published an op-ed encouraging people to boycott the delivery company.
"Ending a discount program won't, in and of itself, save any lives or cause great political damage to the N.R.A." David Leonhardt wrote. "But the FedEx situation has now become something of a test case of the new anti-gun movement. It's also a test case for whether a major company feels comfortable allying itself with a group that effectively promotes violence."
While boycott threats piled up, NRA supporters are lining up to support FedEx.
FedEx offers NRA members discounts of up to 26% on shipping packages. The company did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment, and has not spoken publicly about its deal with NRA members since the boycott campaign began last week.
The Future of Retail 2018 by the BI Intelligence Research Team.
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