As the grim anniversary of the Dec. 14, 2012, mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown approaches, the continuing debate over gun control and gun violence was evident in some recent news stories.

Last week state Treasurer Shawn Wooden announced he was divesting the state pension fund of any investments in gun-related stocks, an effort, he said, to pressure the gun industry to adopt safer gun practices and stop their opposition to such reasonable policy changes as universal background checks for gun purchases.

Wooden then traveled to Washington, D.C., to announce his efforts to persuade other states to do likewise.

While we share the goals of the announced policy, we can’t back the tactics. Making investment decisions intended to penalize a lawful industry sets the state on a slippery slope. Does the state divest of stocks in an auto manufacturer that builds inefficient cars, producing emissions that contribute to climate change? Stay clear of pharmaceutical companies cited for high prices or questionable marketing of opioids? Dump stocks from manufacturers of unhealthy foods?

The bulk of the $30 million divested — a fraction of Connecticut’s $37 billion in pension investments — was the $28 million from aerospace giant Northup Gruman, which also happens to manufacture ammunition.

We’d rather the treasurer make investment decisions based on rate of return than on politics. Leave policy and law-making to lawmakers.

Others

In a story a week ago, Day Staff Writer Karen Florin detailed how gun manufacturers have responded to the Connecticut law that banned the sale of AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting by producing similar weapons that fall outside the legal restrictions.

No surprise there.

These “Other” firearms have such features as shorter barrels and the lack of a shoulder stock that places them outside the law as written. In Connecticut, the guns still are restricted to being used with magazines that carry no more than 10 rounds.

The state legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee should review these weapons. If they, like their AR-15-style cousins, pose a security threat because they could be used to kill many people quickly, then the laws should be amended to ban them, too.

Yes, any modern gun could, in the wrong hands, be used in a mass killing, but the policy goal should be to prohibit those guns which, by their design, are especially useful for such a purpose.

Lawsuit

Surprisingly, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a lawsuit in Connecticut against Remington Arms to proceed, in seeming defiance of a federal ban on such lawsuits against gun manufacturers. It's a terrible law, by the way.

Remington manufactured the weapon used in the Sandy Hook massacre.

The plaintiffs in the case came up with a unique approach to get around the federal law. They claim Remington is liable for damages for unethically marketing the AR-15 used in the killings, making it a violation of Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling in letting the lawsuit proceed. Now the U.S. Supreme Court has opted not to intervene and is letting Connecticut sort it out.

At the very least, unless a settlement is reached, the plaintiffs will get a look at Remington’s internal strategy concerning who to market the weapons to and how. Remington may want to settle before that happens, but it is not certain if the plaintiffs would be willing to do so.

Ultimately, we want to see such weapons again banned federally as they are in Connecticut. In the meantime, the fear posed by this lawsuit may at least give the firearms industry pause and persuade manufacturers to show restraint in marketing their products, and avoid glorifying them in a manner that may appeal to unhinged individuals. 

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.