Letter to President Obama - Urge for Executive Action on Gun Safety

Letter

Dear Mr. President:

On the morning of October 1st, over 146 lawmakers sent a letter to then-Speaker Boehner asking him to bring long overdue and much needed gun safety legislation to the House floor for a vote. Hours after then-Speaker Boehner received this letter, the nation learned of the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College which left nine dead and nine injured. And still we wait for a response from Republicans.

We write today because we share your frustration over our lack of common sense gun safety laws. In 2015, Americans have been senselessly killed at home, at work, in movie theatres, at school, on live television and horrifyingly even at church. There have been twenty-seven mass shootings a month on average this year. Over ten thousand deaths in 2015 are due to gun violence. The frequency of gun violence is an epidemic. We share your view that we owe victims and their families more than tears and condolences. We must act.

Unfortunately, Republicans and the National Rifle Association (NRA) are determined to block common sense gun safety measures. They have argued that more guns are the answer. Research contradicts this and has shown that sensible gun safety laws reduce the number of violent crimes. A Johns Hopkins study showed that ten years after enacting gun safety laws, Connecticut saw a forty percent decrease in their firearm-related homicide rate. When Missouri repealed their gun safety laws, they saw an increase in firearm-related homicide rates. These are just a few real-world examples of how meaningful gun safety measures can save lives.

Given the refusal of the Republican Congress to even allow a vote on life-saving gun safety measures, we respectfully encourage you to consider all of the options available to you under your Executive powers to address our present gun violence crisis. Specifically, we urge you to use your authority in the federal procurement process. In Sections 201 and 205(a) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA), Congress delegated to the President power to use Executive Orders in the federal procurement process and we believe that this option could bring about significant reform.

In FY 14, the federal government awarded over $130 million in taxpayer-funded federal contracting dollars to gun manufacturers that also sell guns to the general public. These companies include Smith & Wesson, Sturm Ruger, Remington, Glock and Beretta. They are among some of the largest and most profitable gun manufacturers worldwide. As the largest single domestic buyer of guns, the federal government is in a position to demand changes from gun manufacturers through the procurement process. We should use our buying power to encourage gun manufacturers to research and create smart guns, to regulate the sales of their guns to ensure that they are only sold to reputable and authorized sellers who conduct background searches on all purchases, and encourage manufacturers to work with local law enforcement.

You have issued Executive Orders in the past that affected contracting. When you signed The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, companies had to comply with existing safety laws, ensure that their employees could receive paid sick leave and increase employee hourly wages in order to contract with the federal government. The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order protects American workers and put companies on notice that they must meet certain standards if they want to bid on federal contracts.

If gun manufacturers want the benefits from contracting with the federal government they should be held more accountable. We encourage you to explore the full power granted to you by the Constitution and by Congress through the procurement process and the federal buying power. We should not award taxpayer-funded contracts to gun manufacturers who consistently show a disregard for consumer safety and an unwillingness to help keep guns out of the hands of those who would harm others.

In 2013, after the Sandy Hook tragedy, you signed twenty-three Executive Actions on gun safety. The overwhelming majority of Americans support strengthening gun safety laws, but the current Republican Congress has not and will not act. We urge you to explore ways to change our nation's fractured and inconsistent gun safety laws through the federal procurement process.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Chris Van Hollen
Adam Schiff
Elizabeth Esty
Robin Kelly