LOS ANGELES, Calif.–Without discussion, a Los Angeles City Council committee today approved a motion calling on the city’s three pension fund managers to divest from companies involved in the production, sale or marketing of assault weapons or high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The proposal was introduced earlier this month by Councilwoman Jan Perry, who said the city needs to respond to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20 children were killed.
“As a city, we have an opportunity to make a bold statement that we will not fund industries that support or produce assault weapons,” Perry said when she introduced the motion. “Through this simple and meaningful act, we are sending a clear signal that Los Angeles supports a ban on assault weapons.”
The proposal was backed unanimously by the council’s Budget and Finance Committee. It still needs to go to the full council.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa indicated his support for the move earlier this month as well, saying the funds should divest from companies that make firearms, ammunition or high-capacity ammunition magazines. He sent letters asking the governing boards of the retirement funds for Department of Water and Power employees, the city’s nearly 20,000 civilian workers and nearly 14,000 police and firefighters to look into how much money the city has invested in companies that produce guns or ammunition.
“I don’t want to make a quarter, not a penny, not a dime on companies that make those weapons of war,” Villaraigosa said.
