Congress has failed "miserably" to deal with gun violence, but businesses are stepping up to do their part, and more must join them, according to pollster and political consultant Douglas Schoen.
In commentary posted by Fox News, Schoen noted data from Everytown for Gun Safety showed the "rampant epidemic of gun violence now costs national and local economies billions of dollars every year, hurts the economic progress of affected communities, and impacts job creators and businesses in unprecedented ways."
He added a recent study showed 68 percent of Americans believe it is appropriate for corporations to take a position on gun safety, "and this feeling is even stronger among millennials, who make up a key consumer demographic."
"Reducing the number of gun deaths and injuries in the United States is not an impossible task and it should not be a partisan issue," he wrote. "It does not require repeal of the Second Amendment, confiscation of guns, or drastic measures to infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
"Government and the private sector should respond to the overwhelming support among the American people to take commonsense gun safety measure that will save lives," he declared.
According to Schoen, 2018 was a "pivotal year" in the movement to end gun violence "as businesses and corporate leaders began stepping up and taking action" – particularly Walmart, which announced it would not sell any firearms to those under 21, and ended all sales of assault-style rifles, as did Dick's Sporting Goods.
The financial services sector is also promoting gun safety, he wrote, including Citibank and Bank of America, which announced it would stop lending money to gun manufacturers that make military-style firearms for civilian use. And he noted, Levi Strauss & Co. pledged its support for gun violence prevention through establishing The Safer Tomorrow Fund.
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