OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | Oakland took steps Tuesday never to profit from the sale of guns and ammunition. The City Council unanimously passed a resolution prohibiting the city from investing in companies which manufacture firearms and ammunition.

“There is a well-funded corporate effort pushing against our work to stop gun violence,” said Coucilmember Rebecca Kaplan. It was Kaplan, along with Councilmember Larry Reid and City Attorney Barbara Parker, who co-authored the resolution last month seeking to divest the city of weapons manufacturers from its financial portfolio.

The council was set to approve the measure Feb. 19 before Councilmember Dan Kalb successfully motioned to include ammunition manufacturers in the resolution. The item was tabled until Tuesday’s meeting.

The city treasurer found no current investments in gun manufacturers. The resolution also asks the Police and Fire Retirement System Board to adopt a similar prohibition, along with the Oakland Municipal Employees Retirement System Board.

“City officials and local law enforcement are fully committed to going after illegal guns on our streets,” Kaplan said. “And by taking action here to send a message to weapons manufacturers, Oakland is showing its commitment to big-picture efforts to reduce gun violence here and in communities across America.”

The move by the city to divest its holdings in gun and ammo companies followed a request by State Treasurer Bill Lockyer for the California State Teachers Retirement System, the largest pension fund in the state, to sell its holdings in several firearms companies following the shooting of 26 children and adults at a school last December in Newtown, Conn.

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