(January 14, 2013) — Chicago Mayor and former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanual has ordered all city pension funds to divest from guns.
He spoke at a gun violence prevention event at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, urging other mayors around the country to follow his lead.
“None of the things we’re doing today also is to continue to put the pressure on this is I’ve ordered all of the Chicago pension funds to check any of their investments and if they have it, we’re going to divest of any investments they have in any gun manufacturer,” he said, according to the Chicago Tribune. “All guns. I’m going to lead a charge among all mayors to have that effort, as a compliment to everything else going on.”
At the same time, the mayor is pushing for more stringent gun laws in Washington. He also wants to double the maximum jail time for possession of a firearm without a permit and possession of assault weapons.
City Comptroller Amer Ahmad said that Chicago’s pension funds do have investments in various investment pools that hold stock in companies that manufacture or sell assault weapons.
Earlier this month, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) decided to dump gunmakers from its portfolio. “Divestment in such firms would comply with CalSTRS’ existing investment policy and comport with the board’s fiduciary duty to members and beneficiaries,” California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer said in a statement. Lockyer also noted that assault weapons clearly fall into the category of being a product “detrimental to public health and safety.”