HollyMatkinPrescott, AZ – Sturm Ruger shareholders voted to force the company to track gun violence and the associated risks.
The shareholder vote took place during Ruger’s annual meeting on Wednesday, National Public Radio reported.
The proposal, dubbed the “Shareholder’s Activist Resolution,” was spearheaded by Catholic Health Initiatives senior vice president Colleen Scanlon, CNN Money reported.
Catholic Health Initiatives, a group of academic institutions and hospitals, was one of four shareholders who urged Ruger executives to develop a plan to combat gun violence.
“We as shareholders are saying that gun violence is significant enough that you, as a gun company, need to address what your responsibility to gun safety is,” Scanlon said. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see them leading an effort about making a smarter gun, like fingerprint activated guns and tracking systems for finding lost or stolen guns, like with iPhones?”
“The proposal requires Ruger to prepare a report. That’s it – a report,” CEO Christopher Killoy said, according to CNN Money. “The shareholders have spoken and we will follow through on our obligation to prepare that report in due course.”
The vote required the company to provide “evidence of monitoring of violent events,” and shareholders said they expected a report “on the company’s activities related to gun safety measures and the mitigation of harm associated with gun products” to be completed by Feb. 8, 2019, CNN Money reported.
The company must also asses “reputational and financial risks related to gun violence in the U.S.,” Ruger documents indicated.
“What [the report] does not do, and cannot do, is force us to adopt misguided principles created by groups who do not own guns, know nothing about our business, and frankly would rather see us out of business,” Killoy added. “The proposal also cannot change what Ruger is about and what we stand for.”
When activists at the meeting requested to meet with Killoy to discuss how Ruger could “be part of the solution” to gun violence, Killoy openly advised those in attendance that he would not be meeting with individual people, National Public Radio reported.