NRA Risks Support of Some Businesses

By Paul Ausick Updated Jan 12, 3:07AM EST · Published Feb 23, 10:29AM EST

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NRA Risks Support of Some Businesses — © Thinkstock

The horrific killing of 17 students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has caused at least a few businesses to rethink their relationship to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and, possibly, to the makers of guns like the one used in last week’s shooting.

The First National Bank of Omaha, the nation’s largest privately owned bank, has said that it will not renew its contract with the NRA to issue an NRA-branded Visa credit card. The bank had issued two NRA-branded cards, one offering 5% cash back on purchases of gas and sporting goods and the other offering a low introductory APR. Both offered a $40 bonus, an amount equal to an annual individual membership in the NRA.

Three car rental firms — Enterprise, Alamo and National — have terminated their relationship with the NRA that provided discounts to NRA members. All three are owned by privately held Enterprise Holdings. According to tweets posted at ThinkProgress, the program will end March 26.

In a related announcement, the world’s largest asset management firm, BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BX) has said it will talk to gunmakers and distributors “to understand their response” to the Parkland shooting. According to a report from Reuters, BlackRock owns about 17% of Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) and 11% of American Outdoor Brands Corp. (NASDAQ: AOBC), maker of Smith & Wesson firearms, mostly in index funds. BlackRock did not indicate that it planned to divest its positions.

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President Trump has stated that he does not favor a ban on assault-style weapons and suggests that training and arming selected teachers may be a better approach. Shares of Sturm, Ruger added about 3.6% on Thursday and American Outdoors stock added less than 1%.

A year ago we looked at some of the advertised benefits of NRA membership. Excluding terminations we are aware of (shown with strikethrough text), here’s what we found:

NRA magazines, including Rifleman and American Hunter
~~NRA Visa (donation goes to NRA from all purchases) with 0% APR for first six billing cycles~~
~~Wyndham Hotel 20% discount~~, as well as deals at ~~Best Western~~, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Microtel, Days Inn, Baymont, Ramada, Super 8 and Travelodge
Property and casualty insurance, term life insurance, auto and home insurance
~~Enterprise Rent-a-Car~~
LifeLock identity theft protection (60 days risk free and 10% off)
NRA car buying service (average of $3,279 from MSRP) and discounts on used cars
Budget rental cars (up to 25% off)
Hertz (up to 25% off)
NRA customer top-tier checks
NRA prescription drug plan
NRA hearing aids
Partnership with Medical Concierge Network
Licensed Moose ATV and UTV products
Allied Mover discounts
Cigar discounts
Wine club that offers NRA members four wines for $29.99, a savings of over $84

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.