Headline March 30, 2018/ ''' FIREARMS -STUDENTS- FEROCITY '''

''' FIREARMS -STUDENTS- FEROCITY '''

*PROTECT STUDENTS NOT GUNS* :

The World Students Society, joins the  brave, suffering and worried students of America, in voicing its concerns and apprehensions for students safety;

*National Rifle Association* : Out of schools says the banner. Every student of the world couldn't agree with that more

Insurers' new business : 'Active shooter policies for US schools, just won't do. Some desperate families just don't know where to turn to.

Insurance broker Paul Marshall can count on his phone ringing in the aftermath of school shooting.

Since the Feb 14 shooting at a Florida High School, where 17 people were killed and more than a dozen injured, seven South Florida school districts have brought-

$3 million worth of ''active shooter'' coverage by Marshall's Ohio-based employer, the McGowan Companies, began selling in 2016

''Every day we get a phone call from another  school district,'' Marshall disclosed.

The Insurance, which is backed by XL Catlin covers expenses tied to shooting in places such as office buildings and concert halls, and is increasingly gaining traction with schools.

It pays up to $250,000 per shooting victim, for death and serious injuries, such as blindness or total disability with additional medical coverage depending on how much insurance a district buys...............

There is no detailed survey of insurance coverage at US schools, but insurers say it is only within about the past year that more schools have been seeking ''active shooter'' and ''active assailant''  policies.

BUT IN UPRISING OF HOPE  : Some of  Wall Street's heaviest hitters are stepping into the  national debate on guns as investment firms ask-

Firearms makers what they are doing about gun violence.

The firms speak softly, but because they own trillions of dollars' worth of stick, their voices travel fast. And they're now joining forces with some unusual allies, including smaller and untraditional investors.

In this context, the investment fund BlackRock, which owns big stakes in three different gun makers, might end up working alongside a group of nuns.

Sister Judith Byron, the director and coordinator of Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment, says her group and BlackRock appear to have similar ideas when it comes to gun manufacturers and retailers.

Following the killing of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, funds like BlackRock started asking gun manufacturers what they are doing to -

*Reduce the risks of gun violence, and asking retailers how much they make from selling guns*.

Byron says her group, a coalition of religious communities and health care systems, invested in firearms makers a decade ago and has been working on gun safety issues for years.

In the last few months the coalition introduced resolutions pushing American Outdoor Brands, Sturm Ruger and retailer. Dick's Sporting Goods to give reports to investors about the steps they are taking to reduce gun violence.

''We're hoping we can engage these big investors and encourage them to vote for our resolutions.'' she says. Some larger investors have similar views.

The biggest public pension funds in the US, CalPERS, recently refused to sell its investments in companies that sell assault rifles. It says that by remaining an investor, it's been able to get those companies to make positive changes.

The nuns aren't protesters, and they don't carry props or signs that to disrupt board meetings, although they sometimes work alongside groups that use those tactics.

Byron says some of the shareholder meetings she's attended have been downright pleasant, with investors and board member thanking her for asking questions.

Support from  investment firms  was crucial to the coalition's big success last year when, after decades of work, it backed a successful resolution that required oil giant Exxon Mobil to disclose the effects climate change is having on its business.

Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, said companies are often reluctant to risk any sales in order to do to do the responsible thing.

But it does sometime happen, as when CVS stores stopped selling cigarettes in 2014. He said activists deserve most of the credit for getting the funds to speak out.

''BlackRock didn't wake up one morning and say, 'We are going to take a different approach to investing, it's the right thing to do.'' he said.

''It's reaction to the activists.''

The top priority of firms, like BlackRock, State Street and mutual fund company Vanguard is to make as much money as possible for their clients.

But because they own so much stock, they can wield a lot of influence:

They can support new directors who want to change the direction of the company and back proposals that change the way it operates.

BlackRock is a major shareholder in gun maker Sturn Ruger, American Outdoor Brands, and Viista  Outdoor Brands.

About a week after the shooting at Parkland, BlackRock said it wanted to speak with the  three firearms makers about their responses to the tragedy.

The fund said it is looking into creating new investment funds for investors that exclude  firearm makers and retailers, and if many investors and funds followed suit-

That would affect the price of those stocks.
   
With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Grandparents, Parents, Students, Professors, Teachers and the citizens of America, and then the world.

See Ya all on !WOW!  - the World Students Society and Twitter-!E-WOW! - the ecosystem 2011:


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