I think I am fairly qualified to comment on divestment in general (and it certainly applies here). I have an MBA with concentrations in both Finance and Economics (among others) from the University of Chicago.

In most cases divestment hurts no one other than those who are doing the divesting. Since more stock is placed on the market than there otherwise would be, there could be a slight drop in the price of the stock. The stock price will eventually rebound to what it should be.

The only possible way the corporation that is subject to a call for divestment will be hurt is if they were planning on an offering of new stock in the near future.

I_AM_ME on December 18, 2012 at 11:56 am

This stock has gone up 5X since 2009. The pension itself is almost half a trillion underwater. Hmmm

pat on December 18, 2012 at 12:17 pm

Again the wheel of absurdity spins like the knob on a shithouse door. The hypocrisy of it is, if these liberal mopes have such a big problem with guns, then why invest their capital with Cerberus in the first place? Oh, it’s ok as long as it’s profitable but give them a knee-jerk battle cry and all of the sudden it becomes a cardinal sin.

What’s next? If your condom fails mid-stride are you going to stop buying dish gloves and tires for your car? WTF!

IceNoMore on December 18, 2012 at 12:19 pm

This is absurd. The president, the VP, members of Congress and wealthy businessmen and wealthy celebrities all have ARMED security. They should all keep their mouths shut about gun control until they give up their security – all of it, not just the armed guards. Us common folk can’t afford bodyguards or armored cars. We want to have the right to rely on inexpensive, effective security like a gun and we want good guns with lots of ammunition. Look at the Rodney King riots. Some businessmen defended their businesses with GUNS and a 6 round pistol probably wasn’t enough. They needed good, powerful weapons with lots of ammo. These people are morons.

David on December 18, 2012 at 12:22 pm

I think anybody who knows anything about Greek mythology would agree with me that “Cerberus” is a creepy name for an investment company. I would think that, with all these school shootings, teachers would want to invest in guns, so that they could shoot back.

Miranda Rose Smith on December 18, 2012 at 12:25 pm

Just two words for the gun control freaks. “FOGEL FAMILY” Five family members slaughtered in a home invasion with knives. Had one of them had a gun, maybe some of them would have lived. Murderers intent on murder will find a way.

Italkit on December 18, 2012 at 12:37 pm

The Bushmaster AR-15 is a very good gun!

Its not an automatic rifle – these have been banned in the civilian market since 1934. There is no such as an “assault rifle.”

Civilian weapons are nowhere as lethal as weapons issued to the military. Despite that, the most reprehensible thing about what happened in Newton is politicians grandstanding on the dead!

We already have 20,000 gun control laws in this country. Someone who wants to commit mass murder would not be deterred by another law or for that matter – by ANY law.

Taking away our rights is not going to make us safer and those who want to purchase safety at the cost of freedom will wind up with neither in the future.

NormanF on December 18, 2012 at 12:49 pm

CALSTRs should buy semi-auto 12 ga shotguns, one for each classroom for every school in the State of CA, rather than divest their stock in the firearms maker.

A safe classroom is an armed classroom.

Panhandle on December 18, 2012 at 12:56 pm

I’m sure someone has said this. This tragedy should have all responsible gun owners considering who might have access and checking the security of their firearms.

Visteo on December 18, 2012 at 1:02 pm

So over 430 deaths in Chicago this year and 435 last year and gun control is on the agenda just now? Hmmm, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that the liberals don’t care about black children. Of course, that can’t be cuz its the conservatives “dat be rayciss”.

FrenchKiss on December 18, 2012 at 1:06 pm

This is not really anything new in principle, just in the fact that this method is spreading.

The newness is in the expansion of the corporate blackmail established by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Bad as that was, it is now being expanded, as the pension clowns see that it works. And after all, if the Teachers’ pensions fall short, the taxpayers will be bulldozed into making up the difference.

Little Al on December 18, 2012 at 2:09 pm

The MSM, Obama, Liberals etc. mourn these 20 children that tragically lost their lives by a mentally unstable individual, but do they mourn the million or so children that never get to breath their first breath of air!

Mike on December 18, 2012 at 2:09 pm

Sorry, I didn’t see Eddie Baby’s post re the taxpayers when I wrote this.

Little Al on December 18, 2012 at 2:10 pm

This is going to envelope Hollywood and the video game makers. When they realize it, they’ll back away from the gun control jeremiad, at which point we won’t hear much more about it.

adam on December 18, 2012 at 2:14 pm

Cerebrus crumbled like a piece of bad halvah and is withdrawing its investment in the gun company.

Jonathan E. Grant on December 18, 2012 at 2:21 pm

And I wonder how many of the current gun control zealots supported the Black Panthers in the 60s, or for that matter, the current Black Panthers that Holder won’t do anything about.

Little Al on December 18, 2012 at 3:11 pm

Don’t worry. As long as the NRA thugs are around, your 2nd Amendment right to carry machine gun-type weapons are protected!

Lee on December 18, 2012 at 5:43 pm

President Obama recently won reelection and Republicans are disintegrating as a political force. The left was waiting for the next disaster or massacre to pounce. Their gun control policies do not necessarily make sense, but they were on the ground running first. Even the NRA had been terrified into silence. That organization and its president have received deeth threats, etc. Caving into the left only encourages them to get more belligerent. Why shouldn’t they? Their tactics work.

Worry01 on December 18, 2012 at 5:52 pm

Here it comes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20776784

The NRA is buckling as well.

Worry01 on December 18, 2012 at 6:19 pm

It just keeps getting better: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/newtown-massacre-washington-shows-first-ripples-of-what-could-become-an-extensive-push-for-curbs-on-owning-and-buying-guns-8422909.html

There could be mandatory buyback programs in which you have a one time opportunity to turn in your newly outlawed weapon. After that, you would be prosecuted. This is not a fantasy. It is the way Australia imposed its weapons ban.

Worry01 on December 18, 2012 at 7:27 pm

It is all about control. Think Barry cares about 20 children? He has a kill list and calls those children “collateral damage” when caught in his war on terror. This is just another crisis, they helped to create (gun free zones) that they want to take advantage of.

Strange that liberals are so much for gun confiscation and government being the only ones armed. After all it didn’t work out to well for the liberals, Jews, gays, teachers and anyone else in Germany who disagreed with Hitler and his government.

ender on December 18, 2012 at 8:13 pm

Just imagine someone sitting all smug and satisfied on a 30-foot high MOUNTAIN of jackpot gold. Because that’s exactly how Obama & Co. felt the moment the news started coming in. Those agitators care about those 20 kids just about as much as they do about free silver. There has been a sociopathization of the hard, HARD left – starting with Clinton.

A good rifle – if maintained properly – will certainly outlast the natural lifetime of its owner. Buy yours now, peeps … while you still can.

S-M- on December 18, 2012 at 8:18 pm

Hopefully another financial group will find this to be an opportunity for worthy long term success. Sales have increased hugely since the tragedy due to the fears of bans, dirty little tactics in a crisis. It’s too bad the majority of the media is in the tank for the libs. Countering with the bloodbaths that have been going on for years in our inner cities where restrictive gun control does nothing but create more victims. Yeah I want to live in a country resembling the ununited states of mexican cartels.

samurai on December 18, 2012 at 8:43 pm

Anyone else notice the CT governor’s demented claim that this person used an AR-15 (whose bullets are actually smaller than the outermost segment of your pinky finger) to “literally” SHOOT HIMSELF A NEW ENTRANCE IN THE WALLS OF THE BUILDING? All in cartoon outline, I suppose. I haven’t heard a single SYLLABLE anywhere challenging this incompetent claim.

Or how about the endlessly repeated mantra that the guns were “purchased legally.” WERE they? Seems to me they were stolen from their owner, who was murdered. I guess someone who breaks into a gun store can also say that HIS guns were “purchased legally” (by the store owner, that is). Are these people LITERALLY trying to summon Stalin, or what? Their fibbing is as brazen as his was.

S-M- on December 18, 2012 at 8:48 pm

China does not have 2nd amendment and prohibits ownership of firearm. But it is not a big deal, if somebody needs to kill: “A man wielding a knife attacked students Friday at a school in central China, leaving 22 children and one adult injured, according to state-run media reports”. It is a quote from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57559179/china-school-knife-attack-leaves-23-injured/
The problem of the two resent shootings is in a bad quality of medical service and lack of this service.

Timofei on December 18, 2012 at 10:08 pm

Ha debbie I bet this pissed u off huh

Donya Paniccia on December 18, 2012 at 10:49 pm

The Republicans will be railroaded on this just as they are on EVERYTHING else. They are incapable of withstanding media pressure. Fiscal cliff: collapse. Gun control: fold. Name the issue: give in.

adam on December 18, 2012 at 11:09 pm

Ok, folks, it’s quiz time. You have 10 minutes to complete the following quiz. This quiz consists of 14 quotations. For each quotation, determine which person, of the 2 choices presented, made those statements. Set your stop-watches……… You may begin.

1. “A free people ought to be armed.”
A. Hermann Goering or B. George Washington

2. “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.”
A. Adolph Hitler or B. Richard Henry Lee

3. “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the [people] to possess arms.”
A. Adolf Hitler or B. Thomas Jefferson

4. “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined…The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun.”
A. Patrick Henry or B. Adolph Eichman

5. “All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. [Our political party] must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command [our] party.”
A. Benjamin Franklin or B. Mao Tze Tung

6. “Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion in private self defense.”
A. John Adams or B. Fidel Castro

7. “That rifle on the wall of the labourer’s cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.”
A. Karl Marx or B. George Orwell

8. “If the opposition disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall disarm it ourselves.”
A. Joseph Stalin or B. George Washington

9. “Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.”
A. William Pitt or B. Yassir Arafat

10. “Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose leaders are afraid to trust them with arms.”
A. Harry Reid or B. James Madison

11. “The measures adopted to restore public order are: First of all, the elimination of the so-called subversive elements. … They were elements of disorder and subversion. On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results.”
A. Thomas Jefferson or B. Benito Mussolini

12. “All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. [Our political party] must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command [our] party.”
A. Benjamin Franklin or B. Mao Tze Tung

13. “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined…The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun.”
A. Patrick Henry or B. Adolph Eichman

14. “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government”
A. Thomas Jefferson or B. Joseph Stalin

Okay. Put down your pencils or pens. Have you answered every question correctly? …… That ends today’s history lesson.

Ralph Adamo on December 19, 2012 at 12:10 am

I’m thinking about taking up shooting. I’d like to go to a range and look how to do it properly.

Anybody have any advice on how to get started?

I used to shoot when I was small child, about 8 or 9 years old, when I went to summer camp. We shot .22’s and BB guns. With all the crazies out there minds fried on violent video games and overly indulgent parents, I think it might be a good idea to have some protection and do it wisely and prudently.

Eventually, I wouldn’t mind having a semi-automatic, but they seem to be difficult to acquire and own in my state (Maryland).

BethesdaDog on December 19, 2012 at 4:17 am

Do not concern yourselves with the teachers pension in CA. The federal reserve is printing 85 billion per month. At that rate within a few years the currency will be worth about …less than the cost of the paper it is printed on.
Hrrrm where have I seen this before?
Oh riggghhttt the Weimar republic of pre Nazi Germany!!
Buy guns, lots and lots of ammo and silver/gold bullion might not be a bad idea too.

Canadian Steve on December 19, 2012 at 8:55 am

You know; I have never carries a gun in all my life. I never was a gun advocate but, I am opposed to the idea of eliminating guns from our society. If we ever do that and I hope not we will be sitting ducks for every idiot who thinks he is a jihadist fighting in the way of Islam. I hope we do not fall in this mistake. The wrong is to look at the symptoms instead of dealing with the roots of a problem. I personally thing that the kid was deranged and no one wanted to deal with this reality.

G. R. SCHAROUBIM on December 19, 2012 at 10:51 am

50yrs ago when i was in school we did not have this problem of crazies shooting students because some one in school had a gun.it was only after the communist teachers union subverted education that the guns were removed from our schools with predictable results.we used to lock crazies up in mental hospitals before the ted kennedy closed the asylums and main streamed the nuts who we see laying all over our streets today.this whole mess of mass shootings is caused by natioal socialist democratic workers party who always hated the constitution because it prevents them from really putting the boots to us.

bruce on December 19, 2012 at 11:31 am

Big Tobacco all over again

Jack on December 19, 2012 at 11:58 am

Expect we will be looking at “if you are caught” using one of the “banned” guns that will come out of some federal legislation that your committing a “terrorist” act.

The language needs to be worked out but I think that is where the Obama “gun control” is headed.

we are really going to be in big trouble after four years of this crap. Hell, he is not even inaugurated yet.

Panhandle on December 19, 2012 at 4:43 pm

I’d love to see the reaction from Obama’s former Chicago south-side supporter when he tells them to turn in their weaponry! Will the gang-bangers suddenly stop shooting each other?

Rochelle on December 20, 2012 at 12:57 am

The NRA is an organization of sociopaths with penis envy problems. You all want more children to die so you can play with your toys. And Schlussel – you are nothing more than a monster without a mioral bone in your body.: Just a shill for the corporate thugs that pay your peroxide bills.

Pawel Grajnert on January 2, 2013 at 9:49 pm