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Delta CEO insists “we are not taking sides” in US gun debate

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, with his floor leaders to his side, holds a press conference Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, in Atlanta to address the jet fuel tax cut issue after the Senate Rules Committee stripped the Delta tax cut from legislation. Gov. Deal and legislative leaders had hoped they could make a deal Wednesday on the Delta fuel tax legislation - which also includes a state income tax rate cut. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, with his floor leaders to his side, holds a press conference Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, in Atlanta to address the jet fuel tax cut issue after the Senate Rules Committee stripped the Delta tax cut from legislation. Gov. Deal and legislative leaders had hoped they could make a deal Wednesday on the Delta fuel tax legislation - which also includes a state income tax rate cut. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, with his floor leaders to his side, holds a press conference Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, in Atlanta to address the jet fuel tax cut issue after the Senate Rules Committee stripped the Delta tax cut from legislation. Gov. Deal and legislative leaders had hoped they could make a deal Wednesday on the Delta fuel tax legislation - which also includes a state income tax rate cut. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

By Associated Press 5 min read

ATLANTA (AP) – After Delta Air Lines withstood swift political retribution in its home state of Georgia for cutting ties with the National Rifle Association, the airline’s chief executive insisted Friday “we are not taking sides” in the national debate over guns.

Atlanta-based Delta released an internal memo CEO Ed Bastian sent to employees as GOP Gov. Nathan Deal swiftly signed into law a broad tax bill Republican lawmakers amended to kill a proposed tax break on jet fuel that would have saved Delta millions of dollars.

Republican leaders running to succeed Deal as governor vowed to punish Delta after it stopped offering fare discounts to NRA members. Deal bemoaned the “unbecoming squabble,” but signed the altered tax bill anyway.

“Our people and our customers have a wide range of views on how to increase safety in our schools and public places, and we are not taking sides,” Bastian’s memo said. “Our objective in removing any implied affiliation with the NRA was to remove Delta from this debate.”

The move backfired. Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who is running for governor, tweeted that conservatives would “fight back” against a perceived corporate attack on their pro-gun values. The state House and Senate voted Thursday to pass a broad tax bill after GOP lawmakers eliminated language that would have exempted jet fuel from sales taxes.