May 9 (UPI) — Shareholders of gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co. voted on Wednesday for the company to conduct a report on gun safety.
The proposal, which was submitted by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary of Marylhurst, Ore., requires that the report includes shows evidence of how the company monitors violent events associated with its products; efforts to research and produce safer guns and gun products; and an “assessment of the corporate reputational and financial risks related to gun violence” in the United States.
The vote was backed by a majority of shareholders, including financial firm Black Rock, one of the largest investors in Sturm.
“The American public will continue to seek solutions to gun violence from all stakeholders, but they will look first to hold gun manufacturers accountable for the safety of their products,” said Colleen Scanlon, the senior vice president and chief advocacy officer of Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the organizations that pushed for the report, The New York Times reported.
After the vote, Sturm CEO Christopher Killoy said such the report will have little, if any, effect on the company’s business plans.
“The proposal requires Ruger to prepare a report. That’s it: a report,” Killoy said, according to Bloomberg. “The shareholders have spoken and we will follow through on our obligation to prepare that report in due course. What the proposal does not and cannot do is force us to change our business, which is lawful and constitutionally protected.”
A gun violence study conducted by a gun manufacturer is considered to be a rare move in the firearms industry.
Avery Gardiner, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told CNN Money she’s not aware of any other similar instance.
“They are making this something where they are literally putting their money where their mouth is,” Gardiner said.
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