CEOs of 145 major US companies send letter to senators asking for gun control legislation

The leaders of 145 major American companies have signed off on a letter sent to every U.S. senator, urging members of the upper chamber to pass "a bill to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong Red Flag law."

What are the details?

The letter was sent Thursday and shared with The New York Times. It cites the recent mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, and gun violence in a number of cities including Chicago and Brooklyn, before declaring, "this is a public health crisis that demands urgent action."

"We need our lawmakers to support common-sense gun laws that could prevent tragedies like these," the letter reads. "That's why we urge the Senate to stand with the American public and take action on gun safety by passing a bill to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong Red Flag law that would allow courts to issue life-saving extreme risk protection orders."

The letter does not provide evidence to support the claim that red flag laws have saved lives, but suggests "interventions in states with Extreme Risk laws have already prevented potential tragedies." The letter also fails to acknowledge that lives have also been lost during the enforcement of existing gun grab orders, as in the case of a Maryland man last fall.

The CEOs of Dick's Sporting Goods, Levi Strauss & Co, Pinterest, and Airbnb were all signatories on the letter, along with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Dorsey also signed an open letter published by The Times in June, along with more than 180 company leaders, who argued that restricting abortion is "bad for business."

Anything else?

NBC News reported that the gun control letter was sent the day after Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) "advocated for stricter background checks during a phone call with President Donald Trump and his staffers."

Toomey told reporters after the phone call, "I want to be clear, the president did not make a commitment to support any particular bill or any particular thing, but he did strongly convey an interest in doing something meaningful, and something that we would be able to embrace and that could pass."