Today, weapons like semi-automatic rifles and pistols can be exported overseas with fewer checks to ensure they don’t go to regimes that abuse human rights or fall into the hands of drug cartels and terrorist groups. As many as 620,000 firearms were shipped abroad last year alone.

Yet as Republicans in Congress tighten borders and limit the movement of migrants, this explosive increase in firearm exports has exacerbated instability and violence across Latin America. Right now, the United States is a key supplier of firearms that end up in the hands of criminals, drug cartels, and oppressive regimes across countries including Mexico, El Salvador, Haiti, and the Philippines. 

The United States continues to be the source of over half of the world's guns — many that end up in countries with few controls over where, how, and by whom they are used. But that can change. President Biden promised in 2020 that he would reverse Trump’s decision to loosen the State Department’s authority over gun exports but he has yet to keep it. 

With enough people-power, we have a chance to pressure Biden to keep his promise and curb the free flowing of guns. Can you help us get louder than the gun lobby to make it happen?