University President Steven Knapp added his name last week to a lineup of college leaders urging the Obama administration to enact stricter gun control measures.

The letter, penned by Lee Pelton, president of Boston’s Emerson College, calls for swift action to tighten assault weapon and gun magazine access in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

“We believe that it would be nearly impossible for anyone with heads that think and hearts that feel to conclude that the status quo is acceptable,” Pelton wrote.

More than 200 college presidents have signed the letter, but Knapp is the only president from a major D.C.-area university or competitor school to sign it. The president from Johns Hopkins University, a top research university and Knapp’s former school, also added his name.

The debate over gun control has engulfed politicians, the media and several industries since 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 students and staff members at the Newtown, Conn. school 13 days ago.

President Barack Obama said last week that Vice President Joe Biden would take the reins on crafting a legislative proposal for Congress. Lawmakers will receive that proposal no later than January, Obama said.

GW and other universities must “marshal our expertise in public policy and in mental and social health to reduce the incidence and scale of the senseless violence that afflicts so many parts of our society,” Knapp said.

Scattered and insufficient data has foiled researchers from coming to clear conclusions on the effectiveness of gun control regulations.