A state pension plan for Florida teachers held more than 41,000 shares in American Outdoor Brands Corporation, the company that manufactured the semi-automatic AR-15 assault rifle used in the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The website for the Florida Retirement System Pension Plan contains a document that states it had 41,129 shares worth $528,000 as of Dec. 31, according to a report on the securities filing.
American Outdoors was previously called Smith & Wesson and is based in Springfield, Mass.
The teachers’ pension plan also invested in Sturm & Ruger Co., Vista Outdoor Inc., and Olin Corp., all of whom make firearms and ammunition.
The plan is worth a total of $154 billion, which makes its investments in the gun manufacturers minor from a financial perspective.
Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and CalSTRS sold its shares in Sturm Ruger and Smith & Wesson.
Some of the students affected by the mass shooting plan to visit the state’s Capitol in Tallahassee Wednesday to call for tighter gun controls. The Florida State Board of Administration, which oversees the pension fund, is based in Tallahassee.
