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Editor's Note: Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in the United States and mother of five children. Watts lives in Colorado. The opinions in this column are those of the author.
(CNN) - After the recent mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio - one of which took place within a Walmart in El Paso - important US companies not only changed their own corporate policies on weapons, but in some cases They asked Congress to pass stricter laws on them.
Walmart, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, Wegmans and Schnucks announced that they would prohibit carrying visible weapons in their establishments. In addition, Walmart said it would stop selling certain types of weapons and ammunition.
These companies want to be on the right side of the story, but their leaders also know that defending gun safety is good for business. Faced with the inaction of Congress to protect voters, Americans turn to companies to keep them safe from armed violence whenever and wherever they can.
A new online survey conducted by Edelman Intelligence showed that most Americans favor an executive president who supports gun safety laws. In fact, the survey found that the reputation of corporate companies gets a boost when companies and their leaders advocate specific measures such as comprehensive background checks. The main conclusion is: "Executives have the public's permission to use their platforms, attract visibility about the problem and support gun safety laws."
And the executive presidents of some of the most recognized US brands. They are doing just that by saying "no" to the dangerous practice of carrying visible weapons in their establishments.
The danger of people carrying publicly loaded semi-automatic rifles - which is legal in 45 states, according to the Everytown Weapons Security Support Fund - is obvious: laws in most states allow people carry loaded weapons in sight without a background check. No training or permission is required. It is impossible for employees to know with certainty the intentions of an individual carrying a semi-automatic rifle.
LOOK : Walgreens joins the arms control effort
Moms Demand Action volunteers recognized the dangers of carrying weapons in sight from the beginning and chose to do something about it. After all, women are the majority of clients of these companies and we are the ones who make the most decisions about expenses in our families. That is why, in 2014, Moms Demand Action launched a national campaign asking Kroger to prohibit carrying visible weapons in their establishments.
We created a national advertising campaign, held demonstrations in Kroger stores across the country, obtained hundreds of thousands of signatures to support the requests and used the hashtag #GroceriesNotGuns [#AlimentosNoArmas] on social networks. That same year, we began asking Walmart to prohibit the access of people carrying visible weapons in their establishments. Since then, these companies have not only changed their policies, but more and more are joining our national coalition fighting for more rigorous weapons laws.
Kroger said in his statement about the changes in his policy on the bearing of arms in sight that: “Kroger has demonstrated with actions that we recognize the growing chorus of Americans who no longer feel comfortable with the current situation and advocate reforms concrete and common sense about weapons ”. Walmart and CVS also made similar statements. They joined companies such as Levi Strauss & Co., TOMS, Dick's Sporting Goods, LL Bean and REI, which recently incorporated firearms security into their corporate policies.
Given the crisis of armed violence in the US leaving more than 100 Americans dead every day, executive presidents have finally begun to give their opinions and support policies and laws that protect (protect) their employees and clients in the communities where they operate.
If business leaders can listen to their clients, why don't legislators in Washington listen to their constituents? The vast majority of Americans want stricter weapons laws, such as background checks for the sale of all weapons and a rigorous Warning Signal Law, which allows families and law enforcement to request a court the temporary withdrawal of firearms who is considered a risk to themselves or others. However, Congress has not passed even the most basic federal weapons laws, despite broad public support.
READ: Walmart will stop selling ammunition for small arms and asks customers not to bring weapons to stores
Just as corporate leaders are acting on the issue of gun safety, we need our leaders in Congress to act when they return to work in Washington this week. These corporate triumphs in gun safety should be a lesson for all legislators: listen when citizens demand action or suffer the consequences.