Georgia GOP could punish Delta for ending NRA discounts

Angered by Delta Air Lines’ cancellation of a discount for National Rifle Association (NRA) members, Republicans in Georgia threatened to shutter a $50 million proposed tax benefit on jet fuel Monday. Delta, headquartered in Atlanta, had agreed to offer NRA members discounted flights to the organization’s annual meeting in Dallas in May. The amount of the discount was reported to range from 2 to 10 percent. Delta announced it was canceling the offer after gun control advocates, pushing even harder for new restrictions after the deadly school shooting Feb. 14 in Parkland, Fla., threatened to boycott businesses that gave perks to NRA members. A bill under consideration in the Georgia legislature would exempt jet fuel from sales tax, putting about $50 million back in Delta’s pockets. “I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA,” Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, president of the state Senate, tweeted Monday. “Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.” Democrats accused Republicans, who initially championed the tax break as a way to stimulate the economy, of self-destructive behavior in seeking revenge. “Casey Cagle would sacrifice thousands of jobs, endanger our state’s economy, and stick a finger in the eye of a huge employer in our state just to satisfy his buddies at the NRA,” said Priyanka Mantha, spokeswoman for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. But state Sen. Michael Williams, a GOP candidate for governor, said the Republican base in the state demanded the action. “When Delta came out and pretty much dumped on all the NRA members, it invigorated a lot of our base,” Williams said. “We’re going to fight.”