Episcopal Church presses gun manufacturer to study lethality

The Episcopal Church on June 1 was part of a successful push by shareholders of gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co. to pressure the company to study the lethality of its products and include the findings in a human rights impact report.

The Episcopal Church has invested in Ruger since late 2018 as part of its broader participation in shareholder advocacy campaigns on issues ranging from human trafficking to climate change.

After the shareholder vote, Western Massachusetts bishop Douglas Fisher, who chairs the denomination’s Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility, said in an interview that the resolution was important because gun violence is a “public health crisis in our country.”