Veteran Military Leaders Call on Congress to Listen to the American People, Pass Solutions to Solve Gun Violence Crisis

December 4, 2017

Letter Demands Congress Act as the House of Representatives moved forward a bill to weaken the nation’s gun laws

WASHINGTON DC — Today, top veteran military leaders called on Congress to listen to the American people and take proactive steps to reduce gun violence. A letter signed by 16 leaders —including former Army Generals David Petraeus and Stanley A. McChrystal—to Congressional leadership highlighted how both the House of Representatives and Senate have failed to act on widely popular gun safety measures that could better protect communities.

After recent mass shootings – including one in Las Vegas that was the deadliest in modern American history – the House of Representatives will soon vote on a bill that weakens the nation’s gun laws. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 passed the Judiciary Committee this week and can now be voted on by the full House. The bill was condemned by Congresswoman Gabby Giffords because concealed carry reciprocity threatens public safety by forcing states with strong concealed carry laws to honor permits from states with weak or nonexistent concealed carry laws, undermining current state permitting standards.

“In the aftermath of two of the country’s worst mass shootings, it’s an affront to both our safety as a nation and the commonsense of its citizens that Congress would consider actually weakening our gun laws,” said retired Army General Stanley A McChrystal. “Untrained and potentially dangerous people have no business carrying guns in our communities, but the concealed carry bill in the House would allow exactly that.”

The letter’s signers—all influential former military leaders and members of the Giffords Veteran Coalition ‚—called on Congress to demonstrate “statesmanlike leadership and moral courage across party lines” and vote in the interests of their constituents. A majority of Americans are in favor of measures like universal background checks, additional public health research into the problem of gun violence, and regulating bump stocks.

The letter’s signatories include:

Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (Ret.)
General Peter W. Chiarelli, USA (Ret.)
General Wesley Clark, USA (Ret.)
General Michael V. Hayden, USA (Ret.)
General James T. Hill, USA (Ret.)
Admiral James M. Loy, USCG (Ret.)
General Stanley A. McChrystal, USA (Ret.)
Admiral Eric T. Olson, USN (Ret.)
General David H. Petraeus, USA (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, USN (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, USA (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, USA (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, USA (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Norman R. Seip, USAF (Ret.)
Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.)
Rear Admiral James Barnett Jr., USN (Ret.)

“It is past time to begin the serious discussion about what legislation is possible and feasible to reduce the gun carnage that destroys families, tears apart communities, and traumatizes us all,” the veteran leaders said in the letter sent today. “Thoughts and prayers will not bring solutions. We do not pretend that addressing our nation’s gun violence crisis will be quick or easy, but we know for certain that it is your duty. We fully understand that it will require statesmanlike leadership and moral courage across party lines. And we know that every day without such action costs more American lives and increases the potential for future horrific tragedy.”

Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed by gunfire than citizens of other developed nations, and the number of such deaths in 2016 spiked to 38,000. Abused women are five times more likely to be killed if their abuser owns a firearm, and domestic violence assaults involving a gun are 12 times more likely to end in death than assaults with other weapons or physical harm.

“Congress has decided so far to meet the gun violence crisis with a mix of silence and attempts to rush through bills to weaken our gun safety laws,” said Captain Mark Kelly. “This is not a complex problem. We have solutions that could be voted on today that would help reduce the daily toll—on families, on police officers, on communities—that gun violence inflicts. Members of the military are committed to protecting the rights and freedom of Americans while keeping our citizens safe. They are calling on Congress to follow through on that oath as public servants, show courage, and act to stop gun violence from continuing to be a daily part of our lives.”

The Giffords Veterans Coalition is focused on engaging other veterans and elected leaders by:

Urging our elected leaders to close the loopholes in our background check laws that let felons, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill buy guns without a criminal background check.
Strengthening existing laws and ensuring lawmakers and stakeholders have the resources and training they need to prevent gun tragedies.
Partnering with other groups in the veterans community on suicide prevention and mental health.

Visit this page on the Giffords website to read more about the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

To learn more about the Giffords Veterans Coalition, or to be connected to an gun safety expert, contact Jason Phelps at jphelps@giffords.org.

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