(Refiling to revive dropped phrase “of” in penultimate paragraph)

By Ross Kerber

(Reuters) – A majority of shareholders of gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co voted in favor of a shareholder decision calling for a human rights influence report, executives mentioned on Wednesday.

The corporate additionally mentioned all director nominees had been elected and that buyers authorised its auditor and govt pay at its annual shareholder assembly, which was webcast.

The passage of the shareholder decision marked a setback for the Southport, Connecticut-based firm, which had opposed the measure. It got here after mass shootings in Might, together with one in Uvalde, Texas the place a teenage gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two academics, that reopened a long-running U.S. debate over gun management.

The decision, put ahead by a nonprofit Roman Catholic well being system, mentioned, “The inherent lethality of firearms exposes all gun makers to elevated human rights dangers” and that the corporate lacks enough insurance policies or practices to account for product misuse. It mentioned a 2019 report Sturm Ruger had printed on its measures to handle gun security “did not put ahead significant options to handle gun violence.”

After the vote, Sturm Ruger Chief Government Christopher Killoy mentioned he expects the board will now contemplate how greatest to reply, and that the corporate would give a remaining voting tally in coming days.

Killoy referred to proponents of the measure as “anti-gun activists” and mentioned its passage was “largely as a result of assist of institutional shareholders, lots of whom declined to even communicate with us, and others who blindly adopted the steerage of ISS (Institutional Shareholder Companies) or Glass Lewis.”

Each prime proxy advisers had really helpful buyers vote for the decision.