Pension funds reconsider investments in gun makers

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From California to New York, teacher and public-worker retirement funds are reconsidering their investments in gun makers. WAMC’s Dave Lucas has more…

The funds are also confronting an uncomfortable fact: Their pensions have supported the manufacture of deadly weapons, in some cases the same type of gun used in the Connecticut school shooting.

For years, the gun industry has been a reliable investment, attracting tens of millions of dollars from some of the nation's largest retirement funds.

But after the bloodbath in Connecticut, the practice is under review in at least four states, including two of the most populous, California and New York.

The amount of money involved is relatively small compared with the size of the pension funds, but it has raised questions about the funds' social responsibilities.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.