Ruger will put together a report on gun safety. But it will not be changing its core business, which is to make guns for the American people. (Photo: Ruger)
Sturm Ruger & Co. is a publicly traded company. As such, it is beholden to its shareholders — to a certain extent.
Recently, several Wall Street fat cats and faith groups financially tied to Ruger demanded that the popular gun maker put together a report on “the company’s activities related to gun safety measures and the mitigation of harm associated with gun products.”
Ruger CEO Christopher Killoy announced Wednesday at the company’s annual meeting that he would, indeed, produce the report. But that’s it.
“The proposal requires Ruger to prepare a report, that’s it, a report,” said Killoy at the meeting in Prescott, Arizona. “The shareholders have spoken and we will follow through on our obligation to prepare that report in due course.”
“What the proposal does not and cannot do is to force us to change our business, which is lawful and constitutionally protected,” he said.
Colleen Scanlon led the effort to request the gun safety report. Scanlon is the senior vice president and chief advocacy officer for Catholic Health Initiatives. She got support from several partners including BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. BlackRock owns 2.8 million shares of Ruger, more than any other investor or investment group.
SEE ALSO: No Changes to What Ruger Makes and Sells to Law Abiding Citizens, Despite Shareholder Proposal
“We as shareholders are saying that gun violence is significant enough that you, as a gun company, need to address what your responsibility to gun safety is,” said Scanlon to CNNMoney.
Scanlon would like Ruger to focus on smart gun technology.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see them leading an effort about making a smarter gun, like fingerprint activated guns and tracking systems for finding lost or stolen guns, like with iPhones?” she said. “We know that gun owners are responsible and sensible people, but we know that guns can end up in the wrong hands.”
Spoken like someone who’s never owned or shot a firearm in their life, who’s never examined the true causes of gun violence and who, frankly, couldn’t tell the difference between a smart gun and a stapler. Anyway, Killoy had a not-too-thinly-veiled rebuttal to the wishful thinking of the peanut gallery.
“What [the report] does not do and cannot do is force us to adopt misguided principles created by groups, who do not own guns, know nothing about our business and frankly would rather see us out of business,” said Killoy. “The proposal also cannot change what Ruger is about and what we stand for.”
#WeStandWithRuger
STAND & BE STRONG RUGER as long as there are idiots & liberals there will be trouble makers if they had their way we would be sheep BUT THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN !!
Ruger can’t safeguard against stupid.
This is truley getting to be a joke. I have owned guns for over 40 years. Never shot anybody, had anything stolen, had an accident. Anti-gun people, go buy an island so you can live in your perfect world. We are good people. Educate your children,like i did mine. We are not going away!
There’s a whole lotta fake news about this, and gunsamerica sent out an advanced copy of this story, with an editor’s note before this Friday’s regular story, to clear up the confusion and BS gun grabbers and their interviewers would have us believe. Best to go read it. Imagine what the response from ATK or General Dynamics or any other military armaments manufacturer would be to any peacenik shareholder’s request for the safety of their weapons systems? “We’re sorry, we cannot provide you with that information, as it is classified – but take our word for it, they’re dangerous, and should not be handled by untrained children, or those with the mindset of untrained children.”
Buy stock, vote!
All of my Rugers must be lazy, they have never done any damage to anyone or anything but trash and paper. This is yet another misguided anti gunner minion trying to change the field, glad to see Ruger standing its ground. Buy a few shares of stock and VOTE your proxy, send a message by putting your money where your mouth is.
Here’s the thing; it isn’t that anti-gun liberals don’t trust people with guns; ……… specifically, they trust anyone who is more proficient with a gun than they are, which in this case is EVERYONE. In reality, it isn’t that they don’t trust other people with guns; it’s that they wouldn’t trust themselves not to shoot their own foot of if they ever did find a weapon in the road.
If every company conducted themselves like Ruger the world would be a better place.
If each person on this forum or each NRA member buys one (1) share of preferred stock you get vote on the board. We could all proxy our votes to one attendee at the shareholder’s meeting but if we proxy 10,000 votes then they count as 10,000 votes 1 vote per shareholder.
Read an article this morning on my Google feeds which was originally from aol about the “rogue investors that forced Rugers hand in the report business……ended w the statement that Rugers report will make it known how much violence Ruger products(firearms) have caused. Personally my Ruger arms are well behaved and have not commited any violent acts that I am aware of.
So these investors want to make money off manufacture and sales of firearms, but they want to limit the manufacture and sales of firearms. I’ll have to think about that one for a while. Maybe they should invest in something else, like fentanyl manufacture or recreational marijuana cultivation.
Never forget – Bill Ruger was the one who came up with the idea of the 10 round magazine limit and while he was alive you could not buy a 20 or 30 round mini-14 mag from Ruger.
People don’t seem to understand that taking 20 and 30 round mags off the market voluntarily prevented the federal government banning them. Which is worse: companies like Ruger temporarily taking them off the market, or a federal ban we would likely STILL be living with? Ruger did us a FAVOR by taking them off the market for a while.
Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups.
Could not agree more . Just because Ruger is a publicly traded company , does NOT give these shareholders the right to call the shots . The ‘ company ‘ does !
This is a backdoor way for the ignorant , anti-gun left to ruin a profitable company …..
If you don’t like Legal Firearms and the Constitution in America, I suggest that you leave America.
I also Know if and when an EMP device would be utilized, the networks and toys fail, and my Rugers will still operate, how quaint.
Ms. Scanlon, I suggest to get educated on the Bible, Firearms, and the Constitution of the United States, before commenting.
Just thought I would add a fact.
BLACKROCK investments are owned by George Soros.
BINGO !
If the same report was made on wireless communication they would find their children using AT&T, Sprint etc while driving are responsible for more deaths than Firearms manufacturers.
But that’s not guns and doesn’t count.
The sad truth is that we can vent our spleens all we want on a supportive forum like this one…..but the reality is that misguided and ill-informed people and institutions own a lot of Ruger stock ($$$$) and do have influence over what a publically-traded company is expected ( aka “coerced” ) to do. Wait for it people…..this is a first step that won’t back off. Be forewarned.
The joke isn\’t on Ruger.. It\’s on the anti-Second Amendment folks who believe in their blue-hearts that they actually achieved something. They did not.. Ruger\’s move was pure savvy. NOte what the Ruger official says: “What [the report] does not do and cannot do is force us to adopt misguided principles created by groups, who do not own guns, know nothing about our business and frankly would rather see us out of business,” said Killoy. “The proposal also cannot change what Ruger is about and what we stand for.” In short, when I was employed in engineering we had this saying: \”Enough research tends to support one\’s conclusions.\” All Ruger has to do is find the data, shift it, and – viola! – a report is born…
OBVIOUSLY the WHORE of BABBLE-ON!
I see what you did there.
To me, it sounds like a waste of time and money, and does not make much sense. What is the point of this?
It makes apparent sense to the billionaire leftist elitist gun grabbers like George Soros and Michael Bloomberg that directly own the firearm company stock in question, the same that are attempting to subvert our Constitution and get us disarmed at any and all means necessary like any other oligarch in world history that have killed hundreds of millions of their own people this century alone! All this so we no longer have the means to hold them accountable for pushing their country (and people) killing leftist policies on us by in this case buying their rule of law. Is that clear enough?
I own multiple Ruger firearms, more than the next 2 manufacturers (in my collection) combined. I would be horrified to see Ruger adversely influenced by anti-gun shareholders. This situation reveals a potential nefarious plot of the Left, taking control of the gun makers by accumulating an influential portion of the companies’ stock. I’m sure Michael Bloomberg has considerable assets to attempt this tyrannical plan.
howie, let me tell you how an old man who lives in rural maine deals with those rascals. i paid lots of money for those pieces enjoyment and i like to keep my eye on them i even allow them to speak their mind every once and awail , no foxes around my wife’s chickens. appreciate your humor i just wish things have not developed to this degree.don’t be too hard on the spirited ones, they will there to protect us..
I had the pleasure of meeting Ruger’s CEO Christopher Killoy, at the NRA Convention in Dallas. I heard him speaking to a reporter making a live broadcast as well. As Ruger Collector, I am certain that Mr. Killoy will not abandoned the Ruger Mission or Ruger’s commitment to the Second Amendment.
.
Ms. Colleen and her ilk can pound sand. If she doesn’t like the manner in which Ruger is operated and operating, she can sell her shares and move on down the road.
Sounds to me like Ms Scanlon is very frustrated and probably needs to get “LUCKY” to settle her nerves!
A good bore, perhaps?
Ruger makes some of the best firearms in the world. I am pleased that they are not going to change and cave in to these ignorant persons that are no more than pawns for those that want to take every right away from law abiding citizens so they can have total control.
“faith groups”???
Which “faith groups”????
I want to know which one of these groups has a faith that allows inanimate objects to be subject to being made out to be evil or have some influence on the actions of people.
The very idea that ANY religious faith can put the onus of a persons actions on an inanimate object is stupidity run rampant, most especially for Christians.
Evil lurks in the hearts of men (and women), NOT in ANY object!
The very idea that a gun (or any other object) is the ’cause’ of evil is monstrous in and of itself, for that then takes from the person any responsibility for their actions with the object, and places society as a whole in a very precarious position.
Only a fool places such nonsense on an object, whilst making excuses for the person.
But it seems we are surrounded by fools.
>>I want to know which one of these groups has a faith that allows inanimate objects to be subject to being made out to be evil or have some influence on the actions of people.
Catholics!
The way you state it, they are reacting to firearms the way the Old Testament encourages the Lord’s Chosen People to react to idols. Is the substitution of firearms for idols here a misplaced reaction to idolatry, or in itself idolatry?
I am in the field of law enforcement, and also a minister… I own guns and everyone in my house, wife, mother, mother-in-law, and children know where the guns are and how to responsibly use them (because I cannot be home all the time). I often get asked about this in my ministry, “How can you be a minister of God, who IS LOVE, and also believe in the right to bear arms?” I show them these scriptures of the Bible, in order, to explain the Biblical point of view on self-defense and murder…
Clearly these people have never read their Bibles:
Luke 22:36 – Then Jesus said to them, “But now let the one who has his moneybag take it, and likewise also a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.”
Luke 11:21-22 – “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he is trusted and divides his spoils.”
Exodus 22:2 – If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him.
Psalm 144:1 – Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.
Psalm 82:4 – Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
1 Timothy 5:8 – But if a man does not produce safety for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Proverbs 25:26 – Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
Proverbs 25:8 – A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
Romans 12:18-19 – If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Exodus 20:13 – You shall not commit murder.
Romans 13:4 – For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
I like the ESV because it is as close to the original Hebrew, Aramaic/Chaldean, and Greek as can be in plain English. Clearly, the Bible demands that followers of God’s word be armed and keep those they love, and those who are incapable safe from evil men. This is a command for those who would consider themselves righteous men. You cannot protect someone without means to do so. Be it taking martial arts classes, carrying pepper spray/stun guns, or firearms — you need a weapon. There is no difference from being able to break necks with your bare hands to shooting someone as carrying a sword. It is an illustration of the use of force. There is no punishment nor guilt against one who kills to protect himself, his possessions, or others in the eyes of God. God will even teach your hands to war when it is needed. To cowardly run away from the threat of evil when others can be harmed IS a sin. Evil doers SHOULD fear the righteous that can defend themselves. To be a peaceable armed citizen in God’s Kingdom, one must show self-control, not be seeking revenge, and not be seeking to kill without righteous purpose. However, he should be armed, and being armed is not just a threat, but a means to deliver a death blow to evil doers in God’s name…
Seems pretty well established if one would ask me…
Very well stated!
Well done , Vicar . Clearly you are well versed in Scripture . My hat is off to you , sir !
To the the ignorant people that equate guns with iphones:
(1) Until you can carry a gun everywhere an iphone can be carried the “need” for real time tracking is unacceptable. If guns are suddenly able to have 100% portability like iphones, then we MIGHT look at ‘data tracking’.
(2) But, until a “service carrier” (i.e., ATT, Verizon, NSA, CIA, FBI) subsidize the ‘data’ cost of a gun, the tracking data plans shall not be forced or enforced.
(3) Of course, neither of the above will ever be accepted by anti-gunners so #1 and #2 are absurd to even think about.
I suspect the real purpose of electronically traceable guns has little to do with finding lost or stolen guns, but to allow confiscation. In other words, another form of universal registration.
That the trackers would be simple to destroy seems not to occur to the wise people who believe they have the right to run other people’s lives.
When is Ruger ever going to move out of Connecticut? Their location is their main problem with this issue.
Rock on, Ruger. I love a company with an Iron Backbone.
Checked my guns
None had escaped
Checked my gun safe. Found one that had sneaked to the door, but couldn’t open it. I put the “gun lock” on it, and now it’s sits in the back of the safe, sniffling like a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar!! LOL!!
It is pretty obvious that Colleen Scanlon and the others involved in this effort are unfamiliar with both the art, sport and personal protection aspects of firearms and more importantly with the current technological state and principles of “smart gun” technology that will never make if viable and more to the point effective but are in fact blabbering in a PC effort to change reality into something of their own choosing.
“Scanlon would like Ruger”
to be driven out of business, by forcing it to produce a product no one wants, and divert business to unicorns, flying pigs and liberal dreams.
These folks all need to take a long walk off a short bridge