(This report is a follow-up to the previous coverage of companies which severed professional links to the NRA.)

Over the weekend, the National Rifle Association (NRA) issued a scathing response to companies who cut ties with them in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting, reports The Daily Wire.

The Backstory Behind the Latest NRA Controversy

On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz entered the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and opened fire. Multiple students and teachers either died or sustained serious injuries.

After the massacre made the news, many Americans expressed outrage. The FBI also came under fire for failing to act upon a tip they received in January regarding Cruz and the (then) potential dangers that he posed.

Calls for gun control also dominated social media following the aforementioned high school shooting. Some people slammed the NRA as complicit and responsible for lost lives, despite the fact that Cruz had absolutely no ties to the NRA whatsoever.

Various companies also faced pressure from irate individuals to sever professional ties with the NRA. Enterprise, Delta Airlines, MetLife, and many other companies heeded the calls and announced their decisions to end discounts and other perks for NRA members.

The National Rifle Association's Response

The NRA issued a blistering statement in response to the preceding companies who severed professional ties with their organization. The full announcement can be viewed here.

Notable excerpts read as follows:

"Some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice."

"The law-abiding members of the NRA had nothing at all to do with the failure of that school’s security preparedness, the failure of America’s mental health system, the failure of the National Instant Check System or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement."

"The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world."

The American People's Response

Many people have opined that the multiple NRA boycotts have backfired.

After various companies announced their decisions to sever professional ties with the organization, conservatives and Trump supporters then began tweeting out screenshots of them signing up for NRA memberships. Right-leaning Americans moreover expressed outrage over the trending hashtag "#KillTheNRA."

https://twitter.com/FrankBasher/status/967219917257834498

https://twitter.com/ScottPresler/status/966062361714020358

https://twitter.com/SamiJK/status/967213854521425921

The aftereffects of the Florida shooting are an ongoing saga. Additional reports will furthermore follow this one as new developments arise.