BOSTON (WWLP) – The State Treasurer is getting in on the gun debate.

State Treasurer Deb Goldberg is asking the state pension fund to divest from gun and ammunition manufacturers. She believes this sends an important message that Massachusetts is committed to safety over profit. Treasurer Deb Goldberg Chairs the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (PRIM), better known as the PRIM board.

As of now, gun company investments only account for .002 percent of PRIM’s portfolio, which is about $1.5 million worth of investments. The legislation the treasurer filed has been co-filed with Representative Ray Livingstone and Senator Adam Gomez and would require the PRIM board to divest state funds from companies that derive more than 15% of their revenue from the sale or manufacture of ammunition, firearms, or accessories.

“When it comes to investing in our local economy, you know, this is one reason and one way we can show them and hold them accountable, from divesting from those weapons.”

Goldberg believes the state can quickly divest from gun companies due to how fast the legislature acted last year to divest from Russian companies.

The legislation also would allow the PRIM board to stop divestment or reinvest in a gun company if the board finds that its fund would lose more than half a percent as a result.

On top of Russian assets, the PRIM board has also been ordered to divest from companies that gain revenue from tobacco or do business in Iran, Sudan, and Northern Ireland.