After the Sandy Hook tragedy, investors wanted to hold gun manufacturers responsible for their role in the event. However, increasing gun sales afterward indicate that this effort didn’t achieve its goal. Rommel Dionisio, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities, pointed out that after Sandy Hook, a pivotal moment for the industry, many prominent endowments and state pension funds announced plans to divest, which happened alongside a notable rise in gun sales.
The Sandy Hook shooting, unlike previous incidents, significantly changed how investors viewed gun manufacturing companies. These firms began to be seen as “sin” stocks, a label usually given to industries involved in alcohol, tobacco, and gambling. This shift was due to the growing public scrutiny on gun makers and their links to repeated mass shootings and everyday violence.