Survivors of the Parkland school shooting lay down in “die-ins” at two local Publix supermarkets Friday to protest the chain’s support for a gubernatorial candidate aligned with the National Rifle Association, as the company announced a suspension of political contributions.
The students from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas high school[1] shouted “USA, not NRA!” and caused brief delays at the checkout as customers navigated carts around them on the floor. Pro-NRA counter-protesters also showed up at one store, and two men almost came to blows before police intervened.
“A lot of people don’t support who Publix is supporting,” said Haylee Shepherd, a 15-year-old sophomore at Stoneman Douglas, who joined 13 fellow protesters on the floor for about 10 minutes at one of the stores. “It’s going to reflect on them as a brand and people shopping there.”
Publix has been criticized by the students for supporting the agriculture commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam, a Republican who has called himself a “proud NRA[2] sellout”. The activists have called for a boycott of the supermarket.
Publix announced earlier this week that it would “re-evaluate” its donations amid the outcry. In another statement Friday, a company spokeswoman, Maria Brous, said the chain would halt its contributions for now as it continues that re-evaluation.
The senior David Hogg, one of the most vocal student activists[3] for gun reform and one of the founders of March for Our Lives, helped organize the protest. It came a week after 10 were killed at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas[4], and the same day that authorities said an Indiana middle school student opened fire inside his science classroom, wounding a classmate
