Connecticut Treasurer Shawn Wooden says he has divested the state’s pension fund from civilian gun manufacturers. He has also given nearly $1 billion of state bond business to two financial firms that he says support safe gun policies.
Wooden is a Hartford native who has lost family members to gun violence. He says his actions fulfill a campaign promise he made last year to promote responsible gun policies as state treasurer.
“In simple terms, money talks. And I want our policy to speak loud and clear. We will disrupt that status quo to produce better returns and safer communities. May it speak loud enough to reach those lawmakers in Washington, who continue to be on the wrong side of history.”
Wooden says those lawmakers are Republicans in the U.S Senate who are holding up reform measures including a universal background check for gun purchases.
The financial firms Wooden has chosen to lead Connecticut’s next bond offering of $890 million are Citibank and Rice Financial.
Wooden says the two firms support universal background checks, an age requirement of 21 for gun purchases and a ban on the sale of bump stocks and high capacity magazines.
