"In N.R.A. fight, Delta finds that there is no neutral ground," 27 February 2018

In the wake of the Florida school shooting, [Delta] announced it was ending a promotional discount with the National Rifle Association, and suddenly found itself in the rare position of being openly dressed down — and potentially punished — by Republicans who control the statehouse. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle of Georgia, a Republican who presides over the State Senate and has received an A-plus grade from the N.R.A., joined other conservative lawmakers this week in threatening to remove a $50 million sales tax exemption on jet fuel that some hoped would encourage Delta to open even more routes... Delta did not respond on Tuesday to Mr. Cagle’s threat or amplify its stance regarding the N.R.A. In a statement over the weekend, the company said its decision to stop offering discounted fares to the N.R.A. “reflects the airline’s neutral status in the current national debate over gun control amid recent school shootings.”... A broader concern, shared by some liberals, conservatives and members of the Georgia business community, is that gun control may now join other hot-button cultural topics that may damage the state’s reputation among national and global corporations that do not adhere to the same conservative Southern values as the state legislature... In the last few years, the legislature has taken up a number of prominent bills that critics say would allow for discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed one of them, a so-called religious liberty bill, in 2016, after some of the state’s most prestigious and powerful companies — including Delta, Home Depot and Coca-Cola — openly opposed the measure.