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Supermarket operator Albertsons Companies said on Saturday it would ask customers not to openly carry firearms at its stores, joining an array of retailers and store chains this week who changed their gun policy in light of several mass shootings in the United States.

"We want our stores to feel safe & welcoming for all, so we respectfully ask customers to not openly carry firearms in our stores unless they are authorized law enforcement officers," the company said in a tweet bit.ly/2HPH03R.

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Leaders of 145 companies wrote a letter to the Senate Thursday, urging the governmental body to take action on gun safety.

The letter notes recent gun violence in Chicago, Newport News, Virginia and other places, calling it a “public health crisis.” But the leaders also say that gun violence is preventable, and lawmakers can step in to prevent tragedies.

“That’s why we we urge the Senate to stand with the American public and take action on gun safety by passing a bill to require background checks on all gun sales and a strong Red Flag law that would allow courts to issue life-saving extreme risk protection orders,” they wrote in the letter.

Red Flag laws, which are also known as Extreme Risk laws, allow family members or law enforcement to petition a court to prevent someone temporarily from obtaining firearms.

“These proposals are common-sense, bipartisan and widely supported by the American public. It is time for the Senate to take action,” the letter concludes.

Letter signers include the CEOs of well known companies Uber, Levi Strauss, Gap, Lyft and Beyond Meat.

Edward Stack, the CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, also signed the letter. The retailer stopped selling guns in 125 stores this year and stopped selling assault-style weapons after the Parkland shooting in 2018.

Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Mitt Romney, had several signatories on the letter including John Connaughton and Jonathan Lavine, co-managing partners, and Josh Bekenstein and
Steve Pagliuca, co-chairmen.

Thrive Capital’s Joshua Kushner, who is also the brother to White House advisor and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, signed the letter as well. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.