Legislation filed in the state Senate earlier this month by a Democrat from Orange County would “prohibit financial institutions that do business with gun manufacturers from doing business with the state of California,” according to the bill’s text. If enacted, it could have major repercussions in one of the largest segments of the $4 trillion municipal-bond market.From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinion and photos from the Toronto Sun.
The proposal comes just weeks after two mass shootings in California left 18 people dead and a spree at Michigan State University that killed three students. “Michigan State. Half Moon Bay. Monterey Park. And on and on and on. There is no place in America that is safe from the epidemic of gun violence,” Senator Dave Min, the author of the bill, said in a press release. “And unfortunately, this epidemic is being bankrolled by financial institutions that have turned a blind eye towards the horrors that their investments in the gun industry have created.
The legislation would impact every area of California public finances including “municipal bonds, capital projects, and the state’s debt portfolio,” according to the release. The proposed bill calls on “financial institutions that do business with the State to adopt the same approach with their investment portfolios if they wish to continue banking transactions with the State of California.