• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 14, 2022

A Group called CEOs For Gun Safety is urging the Senate to get past their previous “lack of action” and pass meaningful gun reform.

Dozens of leaders have signed a missive that was directed to the Senate shortly after the killings in Uvalde, TX.  And Adland is well represented among the signatories. They include the CEOs of Interpublic, Omnicom and WPP—Philippe Krakowsky, John Wren and Mark Read, respectively. Richard Edelman, head of PR/marketing agency Edelman also signed as did a number of other media company and agency CEOs.

The letter and full list of signatories can be seen here. Just beware there could be a delay between the time a CEO signs on and his/her signature appearing on the site.

The letter was issued before a bipartisan group of senators reached agreement on a proposed compromise package of gun laws two days ago. There’s a lot in it including more in-depth background checks for those under 21 seeking to buy a firearm as well as funds for better school safety and security.  It doesn’t go as far as a lot of people would like, but as many have commented, if passed it will likely save lives and is thus a step in the right direction.

In their letter the CEOs took the Senate to task for its previous “lack of action” on a gun law reform. The letter is worth reading as it points to the staggering human and economic toll that gun violence takes in America including 110 deaths daily and $280 billion annually on the cost side.

“Taken together, the gun violence epidemic represents a public health crisis that continues to devastate communities – especially Black and Brown communities – and harm our national economy,” the CEO letter states. “All of this points to a clear need for action: the Senate must take urgent action to pass bold gun safety legislation as soon as possible in order to avoid more death and injury.”

Who knows, if the proposed package on the table gets passed and yields some visible signs of progress—like fewer gun deaths—maybe more people will acknowledge our gun violence epidemic for what it is and support even bolder reform.

Meanwhile, kudos to all the CEOs signing on and making their voices heard the issue.