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Senator Dave Min announced the introduction of Senate Bill (SB) 637, which requires that the State’s public finances cut off business with any banks or lenders with business customers that manufacture firearms. SB 637 applies to every aspect of the California’s public finances including municipal bonds, capital projects, and the State’s debt portfolio. SB 637 ensures that California’s commitment to end the gun violence epidemic is not only reflected in the State’s public finances, but also calls on financial institutions that do business with the State to adopt the same approach with their investment portfolios if they wish to continue banking transactions with the State of California.
“Michigan State. Half Moon Bay. Monterey Park. And on and on and on. There is no place in America that is safe from the epidemic of gun violence,” said Senator Dave Min. “And unfortunately, this epidemic is being bankrolled by financial institutions that have turned a blind eye towards the horrors that their investments in the gun industry have created. SB 637 will force Wall Street to make a choice between the blood money offered by the gun industry and doing business with the State of California, sending a clear message and more importantly a strong market signal that the State of California will not, either directly or indirectly, finance gun violence.”
SB 637 could potentially have an enormous impact on the gun manufacturing industry, which is heavily capitalized by major Wall Street firms. According to the California Treasurer’s Office, the state manages approximately $3.1 trillion in banking transactions within a fiscal year, including selling bonds and overseeing the state’s debt and investment portfolios. The State currently reports $63.3 billion in total General Obligation bonds outstanding.
SB 637 builds on Senator Min’s strong record of gun violence prevention legislation. Since entering office in December 2020, the Senator has authored four key bills in this area, including last year’s bill SB 915, which ended the sale of firearms and ammunition on state property, effectively ending gun shows on county fairgrounds in the state.
