Amazon Being Pressured To Cut Ties With NRA; 2 Major Companies Drop NRA

Jean-Pierre Chigne, Tech Times 23 February 2018, 03:02 pm

Amazon is being pressured by members of the public to drop the National Rifle Association's NRAtv channel from Amazon Fire TV. Users have started a new hashtag #StopNRAmazon to call for a boycott of Amazon until it drops the channel from its service

NRA is adamant about protecting second amendment rights.

NRA Backlash

The NRA is facing criticism from the public after the recent shooting incident in Parkland, Florida, with 17 people dead. NRA is pushing a strong agenda on turning back against any type of gun control and protecting second amendment rights. While quiet during the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, it still produced content on its NRAtv channel.

This channel streams on Amazon Fire TV service along with other services such as Roku and Apple TV. Protests are focusing on Amazon although the channel is also on other services which haven't been targeted by the public.

It may be difficult for Amazon to drop the channel. Roku is the only company so far that has released a statement regarding its carriage of NRAtv. When asked if it would be willing to drop the channel, Roku said that it would only drop a channel if it is distributing illegal content. Currently, NRAtv does not violate any of the streaming service's policies.

A second hashtag supporting the boycott of all businesses working with the NRA appears as #BoycottNRA.

Companies Dropping NRA Support

Non-streaming companies are already feeling a backlash for supporting the NRA. Some companies have already dropped previous deals that they have had with the NRA.

First National Bank of Omaha, the country's largest privately owned bank, declined to renew a contract with the NRA. In a tweet they announced that customer feedback was a reason for the company to not renew a contract with the NRA for a NRA-branded Visa card.

Another large company to drop a deal with the NRA is Enterprise Holdings, which also owns Enterprise, Alamo, and National car rental stores. All three of the companies announced separately via Twitter that their partnership with the NRA will end on March 26.

Thanks for contacting us. We ended the program – effective March 26. https://t.co/tRdHdoevfT — EnterpriseRentACar (@enterprisecares) February 23, 2018

Thanks for contacting us. We ended the program – effective March 26. https://t.co/gwYeQR3xAh — Alamo Rent A Car (@alamocares) February 23, 2018

Thanks for contacting us. We ended the program – effective March 26. https://t.co/BMqcoac4s2 — National Car Rental (@nationalcares) February 23, 2018

Symantec recently came under attack for having a deal with the NRA. It has now stopped offering discounts to those with NRA membership. Symantec also owns LifeLock, which will also stop providing discounts for people with NRA membership.