18/12/2012

Gun manufacturers feel the heat as stock market rebels

Perhaps a reduction in capital investment is what it will take for America to listen. Investors have begun to pull the plug on gun manufacturers following last weeks horrors, the City has confirmed.  If common sense won't avail itself, let's hope a common denominator like profit will.

[caption id="attachment_16940" align="aligncenter" width="646"]stock market withdraws from gun manufacturers if fear of backlash from sandy nook shootings Stock market withdraws from gun manufacturers in fear of backlash from Sandy Nook shootings
Photo Credit: @HuffPostBiz, twitter[/caption]

It seems investors in gun manufacturers are fearing the inevitable following the Sandy Nook shootings. The U.S. has been overtly tolerant of maniacs going on the rampage in the past.

However, this latest atrocity is one step too far. Not that I'm suggesting for a minute that shareholders in gun manufacturers are acting boldly or nobly. But their withdrawal of funds is a sure sign that America will no longer stand for this type of mindless violence.

Gun manufacturers were seen as 'growth market'


Up until Friday, even Forbes saw gun manufacturers as a safe bet, interpreting the niche as a 'growth market'. The Connecticut slaughter of 26 innocents, including 20 children, has made even the staunchest evangelists of relaxed gun laws fall silent.

There are only two gun manufacturers floated on the stock exchange. Both have seen their share prices tumble since Friday. The holding firm for Smith & Wesson has seen 8% wiped off its share price. Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. shares have dropped 6%.

Cabela's Inc., gun distributors rather than gun manufacturers, has similarly seen 6% of its floated value disappear over the weekend. Whatever the public feeling, the private sector seems to have made its mind up about the future of gun control laws already.

Too little, too late for tightening gun control laws


Earlier warnings have not been heeded by Congress. As gun sales in general have tumbled, so the gun control laws have slipped in tandem. Fearing a public backlash, the gun being so much a part of the American way of life, the U.S. Senate has stood by and done little to shore up gun licensing.

Gun manufacturers have got richer, which has in turn aided the flailing economy. No doubt shoulders have rubbed around conference tables at the highest level, too. With a reported 310 million guns in North America, we don't need telling that it's big business.

Perhaps with so few funding gun manufacturers coffers, the price will raise beyond the reach of many. With the addition of stricter gun control laws, which surely must now come into force, obtaining these lethal weapons will hopefully become nigh on impossible.

We can but live in hope.




Have Your Say:

  • Should gun sales be banned in America altogether?

  • Or is there an argument for gun licenses being issued providing the applicant meets stringent criteria?

1 comment:

  1. […] Not long after the Sandy Nook shooting in the US, Helen Flanagan posed with a firearm pointing at her temple with the words Head F*ck beneath...[…]

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time out to share your thoughts.
In certain circumstances, your comment may have to be approved; unless I'm on vacation, that will happen within 48 hours.
Do feel free to come join me on G+ (https://plus.google.com/103723201655575248816/posts) now that you've dropped by here.