Public Pension Group Sets Investment Guidelines For Firearms Companies

Some of the biggest state retirement systems from states such as California, Florida, Maryland, Oregon, and Connecticut have joined other institutional and private investors in coming up with a guide to the touchy subject of investments in the civilian firearms industry.

Given the massive potential for backlash over investments in gun makers amid growing mass shootings in the United States, the coalitions has arrived at five principles that will be applied to investments in companies that manufacture, sell, and distribute firearms to civilians.

Here is excerpt from a report in PlanAdviser:

According to an announcement from Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, the five principles include:

Principle 1: Manufacturers should support, advance and integrate the development of technology designed to make civilian firearms safer, more secure, and easier to trace.

Principle 2: Manufacturers should adopt and follow responsible business practices that establish and enforce responsible dealer standards and promote training and education programs for owners designed around firearms safety.

Principle 3: Civilian firearms distributors, dealers, and retailers should establish, promote and follow best practices to ensure that no firearm is sold without a completed background check in order to prevent sales to persons prohibited from buying firearms or those too dangerous to possess firearms.

Principle 4: Civilian firearms distributors, dealers, and retailers should educate and train their employees to better recognize and effectively monitor irregularities at the point of sale, to record all firearm sales, to audit firearms inventory on a regular basis, and to proactively assist law enforcement.

Principle 5: Participants in the civilian firearms industry should work collaboratively, communicate, and engage with the signatories of these principles to design, adopt, and disclose measures and metrics demonstrating both best practices and their commitment to promoting these principles.