In our local newspaper there were the following stories posted today about the Tragic Deaths that occurred in Connecticut at the Elementary School. Our Prayers to all the Families that it involved.
Here is an article that I found rather interesting in our local paper that may change the way that guns are sold and what guns are sold.
Cerberus to sell gun company that makes Bushmaster
Written by
Joshua Freed And Michelle Chapman
Associated Press
- Filed Under
The company that makes one of the weapons used to kill elementary school children in Connecticut is being put up for sale by its owner, which called Friday’s tragedy a “watershed event” in the debate over gun control.
The private-equity group Cerberus Capital Management said Tuesday it will sell its controlling stake in Freedom Group International, the maker of Bushmaster rifles. Investors also continued to bail out of other gunmakers while the retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would stop selling military-style rifles.
The activity comes as the political winds appear to be shifting. Some Republicans now say they’re willing to discuss the issue of gun control — along with mental health issues and violent video games,
Cerberus cobbled Freedom Group together by buying Bushmaster, Remington, and other well-known gun brands starting in 2006. On Friday, a gunman using what is believed to have been a Bushmaster military-style rifle killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S history.
“It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level,” Cerberus wrote in announcing the planned sale. Cerberus owned 95 percent of Freedom Group, according to a year-end 2011 filing for the gunmaker on its website.
Freedom Group said it’s the largest firearms manufacturer in the U.S. It sold 1.1 million rifles and shotguns last year, along with 2 billion rounds of ammunition. Its products are sold to law enforcement and military customers, as well as retailers who sell them to hunters and gun enthusiasts.
The so-called Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004 restricted the sale of some types of guns like those made by Bushmaster. Freedom Group noted in its filing that new laws along the lines of the expired assault weapons ban “could have a material adverse effect on our business.”
Cerberus attempted to distance itself from that debate on Tuesday.
“We are investors, not statesmen or policy makers,” the company said in its statement. Firms like Cerberus are basically privately run pools of money that invest in companies on behalf of pension funds including those for teachers, police officers, and other institutions. “It is not our role to take positions, or attempt to shape or influence the gun control policy debate. That is the job of our federal and state legislators,” the private-equity firm said. The sale may have been influenced by one or more of those clients. The announcement comes one day after the California State Teachers Retirement System, a large pension fund, told The Wall Street Journal that it was reviewing its $500 million investment commitment to Cerberus because of the firm’s stake in Freedom Group.
Cerberus is best known for its investment in Chrysler. It ended up walking away from that investment as the U.S. government bailed out the car company.
Money made from the Freedom Group sale will be returned to its investors, Cerberus said.
Meanwhile, Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. said in a statement that it suspended the sale of modern sporting rifles in all of its stores. The company also removed all guns from sale and display at its store closest to Newtown.
Shares in publicly-traded gun makers were dropping for a third-straight day.
Shares of Sturm, Ruger & Co. dropped $3.74, or 8.5 percent, to $40.26 in afternoon trading Tuesday. They’re down more than 10 percent since Thursday, the day before the shooting. Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. fell 11 percent to $7.70, and are down 19.3 percent from their Thursday close.
Outdoor goods retailer Cabela’s Inc. fell $1.58, or 3.8 percent, to $39.63.
A Cerberus spokesman did not return a phone message left on Tuesday. A representative for Freedom Group could not be immediately reached for comment.
Dick’s stores suspend sales of certain rifles
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A sporting goods company says it’s suspending sales of modern rifles nationwide because of the school shooting in Connecticut.
Dick’s Sporting Goods also says it’s removing all guns from display at its store closest to Newtown, where the massacre took place.
Authorities say a gunman killed 26 people, mostly children, with a military-style rifle at Sandy Hook Elementary on Friday. He then killed himself.
A statement posted on Dick’s corporate website expresses sympathy for the victims’ families. It says sales of modern sporting rifles will be suspended during “this time of national mourning.”
It’s not clear how long the suspension will last. A spokesman for Dick’s did not immediately return a call for comment on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh-based Dick’s operates more than 500 sporting goods stores in 44 states, including at Governor’s Square Mall in Clarksville.
The sad fact still remains that with all of these efforts, the shooters in the past few shootings Nationally were not the owners of the guns. Forcing a gun control on stolen guns should be interesting. I have never heard of someone walking into a police station and handing over a gun that they stole before they used it.
Perhaps our leaders need to take a different approach to their “gun control” and look at the picture from a broader view.
Our News Channel 5 last night broadcasted that Tennessee is proposing a bill to allow all teachers to carry a weapon on their person during school hours. This will come with the stipulation that they must attend classes on gun safety including hours at a firing range and will have to keep the guns in a safe environment on their person at all times free from access to the children.
Education Department Planning School Safety Summit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Tennessee Department of Education is planning a statewide School Safety Summit next month.
Department spokeswoman Kelli Gauthier said the meeting is a result of concerns following the deadly elementary school shooting in Connecticut last week. Twenty children and six adults were slain by a gunman packing a high-powered rifle.
Gauthier said the summit will gather hundreds of district and community leaders from across Tennessee to discuss how to ensure the proper training and implementation of safety measures in schools.
The summit will be hosted by Williamson County schools.
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/20381356/education-department-planning-school-safety-summit
Perhaps we will become like other countries and decide to deal with this problem like they have for years. Israel has had guns in the classroom for years. Those children are not having to seek professional counseling by Psychiatrists or Psychologists. That is just one Nation that I have named. Just a thought.
Tammye Honey
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December 20, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Until I saw the report and heard it on the news, I had no idea Dick’s Sporting Goods sold guns.
December 20, 2012 at 3:35 pm
Now I feel better as I thought I was the only person who was not aware of that fact. I do not feel as alone on the planet. Thank You. I think of Dick’s Sporting Goods as a place to get items for sports not hunting.
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