Bloomberg Opposes Teachers' Pension Fund Move To Sell Gun Company Stock
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a strong opponent of the gun industry and supporter of gun control, but he opposed a move by the teachers' pension fund to sell its stock in companies that make guns and ammunition.
Trustees of the $46.6 billion New York City Teachers' Retirement System voted last week to sell the fund's gun stocks. The move was a response to the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., which left 20 children ages 6 or 7 and six adults dead.
Bloomberg told his appointee to vote no on divestment.
The appointee, Raymond Sarola, told the New York Daily News that the mayor doesn't believe in mixing politics and finance.
The fund had a total of $13.5 million invested in five gun makers. Those included Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. and Sturm, Ruger & Co.
Bloomberg is the founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
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