US CEOs urge Senate to act on guns

Chief executives of dozens of the US' biggest companies sent a letter to Senate leaders Thursday urging them to enact pending legislation that would strengthen gun laws.

"We are writing to you because we have a responsibility and obligation to stand up for the safety of our employees, customers and all Americans in the communities we serve across the country. Doing nothing about America's gun violence crisis is simply unacceptable and it is time to stand with the American public on gun safety," said the letter signed by more than 150 CEOs.

While the vast majority of Americans support stronger gun control measures to cut down on violence, according to surveys from the Pew Research Center, US business leaders have largely steered clear of the current gun debate to avoid alienating some consumers.

But the letter signed by the CEOs is the boldest move by so many executives in the business community to join others in calling for stronger gun laws.

"Business leaders are not afraid to get engaged now. CEOs are wired to take action on things that are going to impact their business, and gun violence is impacting everybody's business now," Chip Bergh, CEO of Levi Strauss, who signed the letter, told The New York Times.

The letter drew a rebuke from Republican US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who is co-sponsoring a bill to improve background checks. He told the executives to stop being "political players on divisive social issues''.

"I don't think it's a positive thing to see big corporations shifting their focus from their customers and actually doing what they were created to do into trying to become political players on divisive social issues," he said Thursday at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor newspaper.

Cruz, whose state is among those with the most registered guns, said he believes the CEOs are more motivated by a desire to win approval from their "country club" friends than a full understanding of gun violence and public policy.

"This is about social signaling at the country club," he said. 

The letter urges Congress to expand background checks and "red flag" laws, legislation that would enable law enforcement to temporarily take guns away from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would strengthen federal background check laws.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he wants clear support from President Donald Trump in order for the Senate to vote on the measure.

On Wednesday, Trump said "lots of things" were under discussion. The Wall Street Journal reported that White House aides were expected to brief the president on Thursday with a range of legislative and policy options for guns.

The letter was signed by the chief executives of Uber, Twitter, publisher Conde Nast, retailer Gap and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, among other companies. It also was signed by Thrive Capital's Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of White House adviser and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The letter was not signed by CEOs from large tech companies, including Apple, Facebook and Google, or Wall Street banks. Also missing from the signatories was Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart.

McMillon announced then that Walmart, the country's largest retailer and employer, would stop selling ammunition that could be used in assault rifles following two shootings at its stores, one in El Paso, Texas, on Aug 3 that killed 22 people.

Walmart also asked customers at Walmart and Sam's Club to no longer openly carry firearms, a move followed by other retailers, including grocery chains Kroger and Wegmans and drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens.