Traditionally, politically motivated boycotts have very little impact. That's usually because people may not like the company that makes a product, but they like the product.
That's why left-wing efforts to boycott Chick-fil-A over the company's founders' stances on LGBTQ+ issues have never really impacted sales. People might say they're boycotting, but when they're hungry and want a quality chicken sandwich, well, the stomach sometimes overrules the brain.
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In general, right-wing boycotts have failed as well. Because while Walt Disney (DIS) -) may produce "woke" content and Starbucks might not explicitly say "Merry Christmas" on its red or green holiday cups, people's kids want to watch Pixar movies, and adults need coffee to get through them.
Realistically, most boycotts don't work because people don't like making personal sacrifices to support a cause, even one they believe in. That, however, has not been the case when it comes to Bud Light. The Anheuser-Busch (BUD) -) brand has seen sales drop by over 25% in the wake of its brief marketing partnership with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
That's not a short-term trend but something that has remained consistent for months. It's hard to know, but the Bud Light boycott may have worked because light beer brands are essentially interchangeable. People may have a favorite, but does Bud Light really taste different than Coors Light or Miller Lite?
In many ways, the same might be true of Target (TGT) -). The retail giant blamed right-wing boycotts for a slowdown in sales during the past quarter. The impact was not nearly as severe as what happened to Anheuser-Busch, but some right-leaning shoppers may find that shopping at Walmart or Kohl's is not really a sacrifice.
The latest right-wing boycott target may surprise you as it's not a huge mainstream name. Instead, it's a safe company that turned over access to a safe owned by someone who was present at the Jan. 6 coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol.
Image source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Liberty Safe finds itself in dangerous territory
Every company has a different policy when it comes to complying with government requests to turn over information that will allow them to access customer-owned property. Apple, for example, has always steadfastly denied requests to break iPhone passwords because of the dangerous precedent that would set.
Liberty Safe, however, the top maker of gun safes in the U.S. does not have a similar policy. The company shared how it responds to law enforcement requests in a post on X (the former Twitter).
"On August 30, 2023, Liberty Safe was contacted by the FBI requesting the access code to the safe of an individual for whom they had a warrant to search their property. Our company protocol is to provide access to law enforcement if a warrant grants them access to a property. After receiving the request, we received the proof of the valid warrant, and only then did we provide them with an access code," the company shared in its post.
Liberty Safe also denied that it knew no details of what was being investigated.
The gun safe, company, as you might imagine, faced an immediate social media backlash for its willingness to comply with a warrant.
Liberty Safe faces a boycott
People aren't going to throw away their Liberty Safe gun safes, but they could stop buying new ones from the company.
"Bud Light the f** out of these traitors.," ThePatrioticBlond tweeted.
Some of the posters noted that Apple, a company often accused of being woke, has fought to protect customer privacy.
"It’s mind-boggling that @Apple took the FBI to court to protect its customers' privacy, but @libertysafeinc rolled over and gave its customers combination to the FBI bc they asked nicely. I hope they go out of business," Austin Grantham posted.
Not every post, however, wanted to make the safe company the next Bud Light.
"So they are traitors but not the man that tried to help overthrow the government?" @delmarheel wrote.
The company, for its part, insisted it had no choice.
"Liberty Safe is devoted to protecting the personal property and 2nd amendment rights of our customers and has repeatedly denied requests for access codes without a warrant in the past. We do not give out access codes without proper legal documentation being provided by authorities," the company wrote.
