The Latest on backlash against the National Rifle Association in the wake of a deadly school shooting in Florida (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
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The National Rifle Association says companies that are severing ties with the gun rights group and its members are wrongly punishing them for a shooting at a Florida high school that claimed 17 lives.
In a statement sent Saturday, NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said the group’s 5 million members have long enjoyed discounts and benefits from many American corporations.
“Since the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, a number of companies have decided to sever their relationship with the NRA, in an effort to punish our members who are doctors, farmers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, nurses, shop owners and school teachers that live in every American community,” the statement said.
The group says it had “nothing at all to do with the failure of that school’s security preparedness … or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement.”
Companies, including Delta and United Airlines, said joined the list that cut ties to the gun industry since the Feb. 14 shooting at the school in Parkland.
The NRA statement called the moves a “shameful display of political and civic cowardice.”
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11:30 a.m.
Delta and United Airlines are cutting ties with the National Rifle Association, the latest in major companies to do so following the deadly shooting at a Florida high school earlier this month.
Both Delta and United said Saturday they will no longer offer discounted fares to NRA members to attend their annual meetings, and both have asked the gun rights group to remove any references to their companies from the NRA website.
A growing number of large companies have announced they are cutting or reducing ties with the NRA. Rental car company Hertz will no longer offer a discount program to NRA members and First National Bank of Omaha said it will not renew a co-branded credit card it has with the NRA.
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A large Wall Street money manager wants to engage with major weapons manufacturers about their response to the school massacre in Parkland, Florida.
Blackrock Inc. is among the largest stakeholders in Sturm Ruger & Co., American Outdoor Brands Corp. and Vista Outdoor Inc., but it holds only indirect investments in those gun manufacturers. The gun makers are contained within an index, meaning Blackrock can’t dump their shares directly.
However, spokesman Ed Sweeney says Blackrock will be “engaging with weapons manufacturers and distributors to understand their response to recent events.”
Through its index funds, Blackrock holds a 16.18 percent stake in Sturm Ruger, an 11.91 percent stake in Vista, and a 10.5 percent stake in American Outdoor, according to the data firm Factset.
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