A couple of weeks ago, Tom Gresham offered to interview someone from the Wounded Warrior Project. They declined, as they didn’t want to appear on a show that promotes firearms. It struck many of us as odd, but it is confirmed on their website.
WWP does not co-brand, create cause marketing campaigns or receive a percentage or a portion of proceeds from companies in which the product or message is sexual, political or religious in nature, or from alcohol or weapon companies.
As one would guess, this is more than a little controversial. WWP relented and sent Steve Nardizzi to speak on the show. The audio is here (11/18, part 1).
He claimed that the organization “obviously supports the 2nd Amendment” and cited their cross-promotions with hunting events. However, he also reiterated that WWP doesn’t engage in “co-branding” with firearms manufacturers because there’s a great deal of regulation on “cause-marketing opportunities,” and that the return on investment isn’t lucrative enough.
That’s not any less insulting.
Personally, I remain conflicted. I find their policy offensive, but I can’t argue with the good work they do. I have friends who’ve benefited from their assistance. If I were to terminate involvement with every company that didn’t support the gun culture, I’d need to go through my house and throw a lot of things out.