In the wake of the Parkland school shooting and the increased scrutiny on the NRA, several major corporations announced an end to their partnership with the organization.

In many cases, the corporations dropped discounts for NRA members as a way of publicly “speaking out” (read: getting some PR) about the shooting. Delta, one of the top airline companies in the nation, was one of those businesses to do so, but it seems they could soon be suffering for it in a big way.

Looking more and more like Delta’s Georgia jet fuel tax break is going to be rescinded in the wake of their NRA move… https://t.co/vpOgoi92yl

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 26, 2018

The linked story quotes Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, who responded to Delta’s move.

“I am disappointed that certain corporations have chosen to engage in a sensitive debate by vilifying law-abiding supporters of Second Amendment rights. Likewise, I am troubled that this information was not made public until after the House of Representatives passed our comprehensive tax reform measure, HB 918.

As we know, HB 918 now sits in the Senate. The Senate may amend that bill as it moves through their chamber. I trust they, along with the Lt. Governor, will carefully consider the appropriate course of action.”

Gutowski also adds that it wouldn’t be the first time the company lost that tax break.

Keep in mind that this tax break, which totals somewhere around $40 million, had been rescinded in the past and was only recently reinstated. A number of Georgia lawmakers had already considered it unnecessary for Delta’s survival and wasteful.

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 26, 2018

This speaks to two issues:

1. It is both risky and frankly dumb to so quickly take such a divisive stance on an issue because it is impossible to predict the backlash of such a move. Businesses like to think that they can successfully navigate the political waters and come out fine, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that it’s way tougher than it looks.
2. Good on Georgia for having this weapon to use against Delta for its foolish stance, but why do we continue to give major special tax breaks to big companies when so many small ones could use the breaks for other services? I’m not saying give that tax break to some mom and pop airline (Spirit, maybe?), but rather that other industries filled with smaller and struggling businesses could use that money and are probably also more willing to offer special discounts for NRA members, too.

An interesting study here would be to take all of the companies that dropped their special offers for NRA members and see which ones quietly re-instate those offers after the story dies down a bit. My guess is that it would be a lot more of them than the Left would be comfortable admitting.