Big-Name CEOs to Congress: You Need to Act Now

The CEOs of nearly 150 companies are stepping into the nation's gun debate, imploring Congress to expand background checks and enact a strong "red flag" law. In a letter sent to the Senate on Thursday, CEOs from businesses including Airbnb, Twitter, and Uber asked Congress to pass a bill to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong red-flag law that would allow courts to issue lifesaving extreme-risk protection orders, per the AP. The country's law on background checks needs to be updated, the CEOs argued, saying the current law doesn't reflect how people buy guns today. "Gun violence in America is not inevitable; it's preventable," the CEOs write in the letter, first reported in the New York Times. "We need our lawmakers to support common-sense gun laws that could prevent tragedies."

The letter comes after shootings at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, as well as those in West Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Walmart earlier this month decided to discontinue sales of certain gun ammo. The retailer is further requesting that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms at its Walmart and Sam's Club stores unless they're law enforcement officers; it's not changing its policy for customers who have permits for concealed carry. Other retailers such as Walgreens and Kroger have followed suit, with Publix—Florida's largest supermarket chain—announcing Thursday it's also asking customers not to openly carry firearms in its stores. Senators, who returned from recess this week, are pushing to require background checks for private gun sales and made a fresh pitch to President Trump Wednesday. (More gun control stories.)