Letter #5 to CEO of Sturm Ruger and Co., Chris Killoy

May 30, 2022 

Dear Chris Killoy: 

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but a very well-known Palestinian journalist was shot to death on May 11, 2022.  Her name was Shireen Abu Akleh and she had been a reporter for Al Jazeera for 25 years.  She is also an American citizen.  Al Jazeera and Reuters report that the Palestinian Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib  has concluded that Abu Akleh was killed with a bullet fired from a “Mini Ruger” gun. He says tests showed that the bullet that killed Abu Akleh was a 5.56 mm round fired from a Ruger Mini-14 semiautomatic rifle, which is used by the Israeli military. 

Upon hearing of Abu Akleh death Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said, this “should be considered an attack on freedom of the press everywhere.” He also called for a “thorough investigation”.  I hope Sturm Ruger is willing to cooperate voluntarily.  The Israeli military has stated they won’t mount an investigation. The Palestinian Authority is asking the International Criminal Court to investigate.

I suggest that Sturm Ruger be completely transparent about this and publicly report now on all the weapons and ammunition that it sells to Israel. Why not bring this up at your corporate meeting on June 1?  I’d also suggest that you ask the Israel Defense Force to report in detail on how Rugers are used against Palestinians seeing as their use might be involved with criminal liability for you and the company.  And ask them to report to you in particular on what weapons were used to shoot at journalists in Jenin on May 11. 

Since my last letter to you in March of 2021 at least eight Palestinians were killed by Rugers at the hands of Israeli forces.  Again we ask you to stop selling weapons and ammunition to Israel. 

Sincerely,

Stanley Heller 

On behalf of the No Rugers to Israel Coalition 

NoRugers2Israel.org 

(sent via Ruger webmail and  email)

Letter #4 to CEO of Sturm Ruger and Co., Chris  Killoy

(sent via fax and email)

March 28, 2021

Dear CEO Killoy:  

This is the fourth letter I've written to you. Three were written in  2018 during the time Palestinians were being shot literally by the thousands in  the Gaza Strip. You haven't responded, but I'll try again.

I don't know if you know this, but the child above,  Ali Abu Alia was killed by one of your weapons in early December 2020. Accounts say he was watching a demonstration taking place against people stealing land near his West Bank town. You sold the Rugers to the Israeli military  which is brazenly using them for "crowd control", that is breaking up  demonstrations by shooting leaders and participants in hopes of spreading  terror.

By simple internet searches we calculate about 60 Palestinians  killed or injured by Ruger rifles. This number could be far higher depending on  the extent to which Rugers were used against the Palestinians of Gaza during the  21 months campaign they called the "Great March of Return". I had asked you if  Ruger's were being used against the people of Gaza in an earlier letter. You  didn't reply, but this 2020 article in the Israeli paper Haaretz makes clear  that Rugers were at least some of the weapons fired against Palestinians.  

Again I'll appeal to your moral sense and to that of the Board of  Directors of Sturm Ruger. You all have a responsibility to find out how your  weapons are being used, especially since Israel is a known violator of  Palestinian rights. Again I'll remind you all that assisting in crimes against  humanity is a violation of international law and Ruger officials may at some  time be found liable. Your stockholders should be told about this because there  is the possibility of successful damage suits. We call on you to publicly reveal  the amount of weapons you sell to Israel and to suspend sales and deliveries  immediately.

A number of groups have banded together in a coalition to stop Ruger weapons sales to the Israeli government. The coalition has started  a website NoRugers2Israel.org If we've made any factual errors please let us  know.

Please share this letter with the Sturm Ruger Board of Directors.  You can reach the coalition at NoRuger@protonmail.com or via MECC, Box 3626,  Woodbridge, CT 06525.

For the Coalition,

Stanley Heller  

March 30, 2020

Dear Senator Murphy,

We’re glad that you honored victims of gun violence in your recent speech to the Senate. However, you didn’t mention the shootings directly linked to one Connecticut-based company. Sturm Ruger & Co is headquartered in the Southport section of Fairfield. It supplies Israel’s military and security forces with rifles based on the Ruger 10/22 model. 

Our research, based mainly on Israeli sources like the paper of record, Haaretz, and the human rights group B’tselem, shows that at least 60 people killed or wounded by Rugers in recent years. It could be literally hundreds of times more. During the 21 month Great March of Return that began in March of 2018 in the Gaza Strip Israeli soldiers killed 200 and injured 36,000 (according to UN estimates). We know some of the victims were shot by Rugers, but we don’t know how many. The Ruger company refuses to reply to our questions about this.

Israeli authorities brazenly say they use the Rugers for “crowd control”. Imagine, shooting .22 caliber bullets into the bodies of people at demonstrations in order to “control” them. 

In your remarks about the shooting epidemic, you said “this country allows this to happen”. You’re right about what is happening within this country, but the phrase is also correct about what the Senate and House allow to happen overseas to Palestinians.

I understand you’re speaking at a gathering tomorrow concerning gun violence. We ask you to mention the scandal of Rugers being allowed to be purchased by Israel for crowd control. We ask you to sponsor a message to suspend such sales immediately.

Stanley Heller

For the coalition “No Ruger Guns to Israel” 

https://NoRugers2Israel.org @no_ruger

Administrator

Promoting Enduring Peace

P.S. the growing list of groups in the coalition is listed at the bottom of our home page. Presently it numbers 11, Bridgeport (CT) Democratic Socialists of America, Dwight Hall Peace Initiative (Yale), Jewish Voice for Peace (New Haven), Jewish Voice for Peace (Westchester), New Hampshire Palestine Education Network, New Hampshire Peace Action, New Hampshire Veterans for Peace, Middle East Crisis Committee (CT), Promoting Enduring Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine (UConn), WESPAC