Public Advocate, Families Of Gun Violence Victims Blast TD Bank Over Loans To Gun Makers
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Family members of gun violence victims held up pictures of their loved ones in front of the TD Bank on West 68th Street on Sunday, joining Public Advocate Letitia James in a rally to demand the bank stop doing business with gun makers.
"These banks are sponsoring all these criminal activities," Yvette Martinez, whose daughter was shot and killed in 2009, told 1010 WINS' Samantha Liebman. "We're losing the war against the fight against this gun violence."
James said TD Bank lent nearly $300 million to Smith & Wesson, the same manufacturer that made the guns used in Wednesday's San Bernardino mass shooting that left 14 dead and 21 wounded.
"Money that fuels gun violence is blood money," James said.
She wants the city to take a look at its own contracts with TD Bank.
James also sent a letter to the bank demanding that it donate its proceeds of their dealings with gun makers to anti-gun groups and said consumers should take their money elsewhere until TD Bank complies.