The National Rifle Association has asked members to boycott ConocoPhillips products, including gasoline and lubricants,in response to the energy companys support of efforts to restrict the presence of guns at workplaces.
The powerful lobby organization vowed to make an example of ConocoPhillips after the company filed a federal lawsuit to block a new Oklahoma law that prohibits employers from firing workers who left guns in cars in company parking lots. The Oklahoma legislature passed the law after paper manufacturer Weyerhaeuser fired several employees who left guns locked in their cars.
Across the country, were going to make ConocoPhillips the example of what happens when a corporation takes away your Second Amendment rights, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said in an Aug. 1 news release. If you are a corporation thats anti-gun, anti-gun owner, or anti-Second Amendment, we will spare no effort or expense to work against you, to protect the rights of your law-abiding employees. Their rights are worth more than your money!
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, states, A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. ConocoPhillips said it supports that guarantee but does not want guns in its workplaces.
ConocoPhillips supports the Second Amendment and respects the rights of law-abiding citizens to own guns, the company said in a written statement. Our primary concern is the safety of all our employees. We are simply trying to provide a safe and secure working environment for our employees by keeping guns out of our facilities, including our company parking lots.
The boycott has since been joined by two other gunowner rights groups, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the Second Amendment Foundation. Those groupsclaim a combined 1.2 million members.
The NRA,headquartered in Fairfax, Va.,claims 4 million members. The organization asked those members to boycott the companys products,including Conoco and Phillips gas stations. It plans to post billboards declaring, ConocoPhillips is No Friend of the Second Amendment.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips declined to comment on the boycott. Its lawsuit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Whirlpool, the Williams Companies, and the Oklahoma State Chamber initially joined the suit, but have since dropped out, according to the NRA.