Hooray for the Brady group and the Million Dollar Moms! No doubt Ashcroft is upset with this outcome.
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Gun Violence Prevention
Groups Claim Victory
H&R Block Severs Ties with National Rifle Association
Washington, D.C.-In a stunning defeat for the gun lobby, H&R Block, the
nation's largest tax preparation firm, today severed a controversial
marketing agreement it had entered into with the National Rifle
Association (NRA). H&R Block's withdrawal from the program came as
a result of widespread protests spearheaded by the Alliance for
Justice's Gun Industry Watch, and supported by the Million Mom March
united with the Brady Campaign and the Mid-Atlantic Coalition to
Prevent Gun Violence.
"Let this send a loud message to other corporate partners of the NRA,"
said Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron. "If you support the NRA,
we will work to make sure that your employees, customers, and all of
your stakeholders know that you support an extremist gun lobby that is
out of step with mainstream America."
"The termination of this agreement is a tremendous victory for everyone
who was outraged that a reputable business like H&R Block would
support an extremist organization like the NRA," said Michael D.
Barnes, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
united with the Million Mom March. "Marketing your products to a
specific group of people is an accepted business practice, but H&R
Block crossed the line when it agreed to pay royalties to the NRA."
"Corporations doing business with the NRA should be very concerned
by the large efforts of hundreds of gun safety activists that came out in
defiance of H&R Block's agreement with the NRA," said Bryan Miller of
the Mid-Atlantic Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.
H&R Block had entered into an agreement with a marketing company
called Memberdrive to market its products and services to NRA
members. However, the agreement also provided for "royalties" paid by
H&R Block, through Memberdrive, to the NRA. According an H&R Block
advertisement that ran in the March issue of America's First Freedom,
the NRA's magazine, H&R Block "will make a contribution to the NRA for
every Member who becomes a new customer." Memberdrive's Senior
Vice President of Marketing is Susan LaPierre, wife of NRA CEO Wayne
LaPierre.
Gun Industry Watch, a student network, first exposed the agreement in
late February, staging a protest outside of an H&R Block outlet in
Washington, DC, and planning dozens more. Over the past two weeks,
thousands of activists including those from the Million Mom March and
the Brady Campaign joined with Gun Industry Watch and called, faxed
and e-mailed H&R Block to express their objections to this agreement
and to educate the company on the extremist positions that the NRA
has taken in the past. With Gun Industry Watch recruiting students,
Million Mom March recruiting its members and support from the
Mid-Atlantic Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, protests of H&R Block
offices in more than 50 cities had been planned for mid-March. These
protests have now been called off.
"This victory shows the power of the gun control movement's
grassroots," said Aron. "When you engage students and moms
together, it's a potent combination."
"H&R Block now understands that, by agreeing to this royalty scheme, it
was furthering the reckless political agenda of the NRA's leadership,"
said Mr. Barnes. "Congratulations to Gun Industry Watch and to all of
our Million Mom March activists and members for making their voices
heard."
gunindustrywatch.org |
