Levi Strauss CEO calls for tougher firearms laws

Levi Strauss CEO has urged business leaders to support new gun control measures, saying the jeans maker will provide $ 1 million to activists and will partner with Michael Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety for promote stronger firearms laws.

In an editorial published by Fortune magazine, Chip Bergh asserted that leaders "simply can not remain silent" on the issue of gun control, adding that "doing nothing is no longer an option" . some."

"You may be wondering why a company that does not manufacture or sell firearms is going into this business, but for us it's simple. Americans should not have to live in fear of gun violence. It's a problem that concerns us all – all generations and all walks of life, "Bergh wrote.

Levi Strauss has created a fund to distribute $ 1 million in grants over the next four years, and Bergh said the company will work with Everytown for Gun Safety and Bloomberg to form a "coalition of business leaders" .

The company also expanded its volunteer time to include political activism and doubled its donation matching policy if employees contributed to organizations "aligned" with its fund.

Bergh, a former US Army officer, said he was not proposing [of] the second amendment. In his op-ed, he specifically supported background checks on all gun sales.

Some large corporations started the gun control debate after the Parkland High School shooting in February. Retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart have limited sales of all their firearms to their customers over the age of 21, while Citigroup has announced that it will not do business with companies that do not do not respect a series of restrictions established by the bank.

Moves have come a long way. Dick, who also stopped selling some firearms accessories and hired lobbyists to gain control of the firearms, partially blamed his policy of reducing firearms sales in the last quarter.

Bergh had already written an open letter about this in 2016, asking people not to bring firearms into Levi's stores or offices after a customer accidentally shot himself.