Hi folks,
I have a favor to ask. Since you’re ending your relationship with the National Rifle Association, could you add my name to the list of companies, organizations, and individuals with which you won’t do business? You see, any objections you could have to the NRA apply to me many times over, and it’s only fair that you put the same distance between us.
The February 22 announcement by your company’s @enterprisecares Twitter account (https://twitter.com/enterprisecares/status/966847626439086082), “Thank you for contacting us! All three of our brands have ended the discount for NRA members. This change will be effective March 26. Thank you again for reaching out. Kind regards, Michael” was followed by repeated announcement by all three of your brands on Feb. 23 (https://twitter.com/enterprisecares/status/966832314532618241, https://twitter.com/nationalcares/status/966832392655663104, https://twitter.com/alamocares/status/966832358841139206). Your decision came as a specific response to calls to boycott the NRA because of its opposition to further government interference in self-defense rights–specifically, the private ownership and use of firearms.
If you’re going to refuse to do business with the NRA because of its support of an area of individual freedom, it’s only fair that you extend me the same courtesy. I’m a political columnist who has long and loudly opposed government restrictions on any area of liberty, including self-defense rights. I long stayed independent of the NRA not because I found it too radical in this area, but because I found it too compromising on the issue, often hostile to other liberties, including free speech and freedom from unreasonable search-and-seizure, and too supportive of law enforcement. That is, your qualms about doing business with the NRA should be even stronger with regard to me, since I am a less compromising advocate of individual liberty. I offer as evidence my column recommending that people carry guns without seeking government permission: “Carry a Gun—Without a Permit”.
Also, since you are apparently cutting ties with organizations that oppose government infringement of individual rights, I suggest that you consider taking a similar public stance against other pro-liberty groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fully Informed Jury Association, and Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, among others. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be inconsistent.
yours,
J.D. Tuccille
Henry
February 23, 2018 at 2:08 pmIt’s not like NRA members have no remaining options…
https://benefits.nra.org/car-rentals/
I was never a big fan of Enterprise anyway. All their ads about “we’ll come out and pick you up” — every time I tried to take advantage of that claim, regardless of where I was, I would always get the same answer: “we don’t offer that service where you are.”
analisislibre
March 6, 2018 at 10:10 amI am a gun owner, but never have been (nor will I ever be) a member of the NRA. I”m a moderate, and I know moderation and rational discourse aren”t really en vogue right now but here”s my 2 cents. The NRA does have a lobbying arm. That is fact. Citing a “critical need to defend Second Amendment rights from politicians, the NRA started the Institute for Legislative Action, or ILA, in 1975. The ILA lobbies the government to protect Second Amendment rights. If you”re about to argue that the ILA isn”t a part of the NRA, it is- just as your arm is part of your body. It can move independently, but it”s all controlled by the same brain. Also, (and I know this is not the majority opinion on this board), I do not think that more guns makes us more safe- which seems to be the central tenet of the NRA”s philosophy.
J.D. Tuccille
March 6, 2018 at 10:27 amI don’t think there’s any question that the NRA has a strong political presence, or that its ILA engages in lobbying. I’m not sure why you think that’s a relevant objection. As I wrote above, “I long stayed independent of the NRA not because I found it too radical in this area, but because I found it too compromising on the issue, often hostile to other liberties, including free speech and freedom from unreasonable search-and-seizure, and too supportive of law enforcement.” That is, I am much more supportive of self-defense rights than is the NRA, and much more opposed to government infringement of all liberty. Too many moderates, in my experience, tend to define themselves by an enthusiasm for government suppression of liberty across the board.