Report: Obama and Other Gun Control Proponents Own Stock in Gun Companies

A February 5^th Reuters report shows that staunch gun control proponents President Obama and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) both own stock in gun companies.

Obama owns his stock through an Illinois pension plan which, in turn, “has about $5 million invested directly in several gun and ammo makers.” Durbin owns his stock through the S Fund, a “federal retirement benefit” that owns stock in gun manufacturers.

So both men own their stock indirectly, but they own it nonetheless.

According to Reuters, Obama “has up to $100,000” invested into the Illinois pension plan “from his days in the Illinois General Assembly.” That pension plan owns stock in Smith & Wesson Holdings and Sturm Ruger, two large firearms manufacturers, as well as Vista Outdoor and Olin, two prominent ammunition makers.

Durbin has “an S Fund investment of about 115,000,” which means he is not only a “leading advocate” for more gun control but also an investor in funds that hold stocks in gun makers.

Moreover, former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-4th) — a gun control advocate extraordinaire — “held shares worth between $3,003 and $45,000 in at least three exchange-traded funds with stakes in gun and ammo companies … while in office.” And financial disclosures show she “also invested between $2,002 and $30,000 for two grandchildren in so-called 529 college-savings plans that include a Vanguard fund holding firearms stocks.”

With record background checks signaling that gun sales are beginning at a record pace in 2016, gun makers and ammunition manufacturers alike are gearing up for another year of big growth and more investors. They already enjoy hundreds of millions in cumulative investment from First Eagle, Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, and Fidelity, among others. And those investments are helping mutual funds and pensions deliver the returns investors like Obama, Durbin, and McCarthy are looking for.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.