The terrible massacre last month in Uvalde, Texas, that left eleven children dead has led to the most significant push for new federal gun legislation in a decade. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Our Kids Act, which would raise the legal age limit for buying certain semi-automatic rifles, allow gun buyback programs, and enhance current regulations on bump stocks. 

It was mostly a party-line vote, although five Republicans voted for the bill and two Democrats opposed it. However, CNN stated that the House legislation is unlikely to pass the Senate. 

But now, a new push from the business community is calling for lawmakers to take action on gun legislation. 

According to Axios, the CEOs of more than 200 companies have signed a letter asking the Senate to "take immediate action" on gun violence. Under the name “CEOs for Gun Safety,” the participating companies include Levi Strauss & Co., GoPro, J. Crew, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lululemon, Lyft, Bain Capital, Bloomberg LP, Permanente Medical Group, and Unilever U.S. Axios said. At least two sports franchises—the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants—also signed.

The letter is a version of one first sent in 2019, although more companies are on board this time. However, it does not call for any specific legislative proposal and is not an official endorsement of the package that passed the House this week. 

“We, the undersigned CEOs, represent American companies from across the country. Like you, we continue to bear witness to the toll of America’s gun violence epidemic and its impact on our communities,” the letter says. “Our country needs you to take bold urgent action to address our gun violence epidemic. In recent weeks our country has been forced to reckon with the killings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the equally horrifying events at the Tops market in Buffalo, and the 14 additional mass shootings that took place in just the ten days between the two. These shootings have destroyed families and communities, shaken our country, and highlighted the lack of action from the US Senate.” 

"Gun violence costs American taxpayers, employers, and communities a staggering $280 billion per year,” the letter says, in terms of economic impact. 

The last major push for federal gun legislation came in 2012, after the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut, another high-casualty school shooting in which most victims were children. President Barack Obama and a bipartisan group of senators put together legislation that would have expanded background checks and limited magazine capacities, but none of those proposals passed. 

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.