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Giffords Commends Over 100 Business Leaders for Demanding the Senate Debate and Pass Gun Safety Laws 

 The heads of 145 businesses sent a letter today to Senate leadership urging them to consider legislation like universal background checks, already passed by the House of Representatives 

Washington, DC — Today, Giffords , the gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, commended over 100 business leaders for demanding that the Senate debate and pass gun safety laws. The organized call to pressure Senate leadership comes weeks after Walmart, America’s largest retailer, announced they would modify policies for selling firearms. Both the executives and Walmart sent letters to Senate leadership urging them to acknowledge the gun violence crisis that’s devastating the country and take necessary steps to address it.

Statement from former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords:

“Business leaders are leaving the NRA behind and leading with courage. They are part of the broader movement by the private sector to come down on the side of gun safety. Across the country, executives and their employees understand that we are not doing enough to protect our communities from gun violence. They are standing up and pointing out that politicians can’t hide behind the gun lobby any longer. We applaud their push to pressure the Senate and President to join the fight to keep America safe.”

Today’s news about executives stepping up follows Walmart’s decision to stop selling certain types of ammunition used in recent mass shootings and ban open carry in all of its stores. Earlier this year Salesforce said that the software company would no longer allow retail businesses to use its e-commerce services for marketing and selling products if they carry automatic or semi-automatic firearms while Dick’s Sporting Goods declared that it would stop selling firearms at 125 of its stores. This is part of a larger trend within the business community to make commitments to gun safety, reflecting the growing call from Americans for commonsense gun reform.