Rhode Island’s State Pension to Shed Gun, Prison Investments

(Bloomberg) -- Rhode Island is no longer looking to make money from private prisons and assault weapons.

Its State Investment Commission, which oversees Rhode Island’s $8.7 billion pension system, voted to sell its investments in the for-profit prison and assault-weapons industries at the request of General Treasurer Seth Magaziner. The state’s investments in four such companies represent well under 1% of its total fund, according to Magaziner’s office.

“Assault weapons and for-profit prisons have caused too much pain for countless Americans, including many Rhode Islanders,” Magaziner said in a statement Wednesday announcing the decision.

The step will cause Rhode Island to shed its investments in American Outdoor Brands Corp., Sturm Ruger & Co., CoreCivic Inc. and Geo Group Inc., which are among the largest publicly-traded firearms and for-profit prison companies in the U.S.

Public pensions are coming under growing scrutiny for the environmental and social impacts of their investments, resulting in divestment campaigns to push companies to change course.

Funds in California, New Jersey and New York have also severed ties with prison and gun companies, said Evan England, a spokesman for Magaziner.

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