Opinion ID: 2814625
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trinity Objects to Wal-Mart’s Sale of Assault

Text: Rifles. Trinity’s roots extend back centuries. Its St. Paul’s Chapel is the oldest public building in continuous use in New York City and is where George Washington worshipped after his first inauguration. In 1705, the church was the beneficiary of the lower Manhattan farm of Queen Anne of England, instantly making it very wealthy. 1 Because of the time-sensitive nature of this appeal, we were unable to give a full rationale for a ruling on the date we entered judgment in favor of Wal-Mart. This opinion does so. 10 The story isn’t much different today. Trinity continues to be one of the wealthiest religious institutions in the United States, with a balance sheet of over $800 million in assets and real estate valued at approximately $3 billion. See Letter from Trinity Wall Street CFO Accompanying Trinity’s 2013 Financial Statements (undated), available at https://www.trinitywallstreet.org/sites/default/files/miscellane ous/LetterfromtheCFOaccompanyingthe2013FinancialStatem ents.pdf. Its strong financial footing, according to Trinity, empowers it to “pursue a mission of good works beyond the reach of other religious institutions.” Trinity Br. 16. Part of that mission is to reduce violence in society. Alarmed by the spate of mass murders in America, in particular the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, Trinity resolved to use its investment portfolio to address the ease of access to rifles equipped with high-capacity magazines (the weapon of choice of the Sandy Hook shooter and other mass murderers). Its principal focus was Wal-Mart. During its review of Wal-Mart’s merchandising practices, Trinity discovered what it perceived as a major inconsistency. Despite the retailer’s stated mission to “make a difference on the big issues that matter to us all,” Trinity Br. 11, it continued in some states to sell the Bushmaster AR-15 (a model of assault rifle). Trinity also perceived Wal-Mart as taking an unprincipled approach in deciding which products to sell. For example, despite its position on the AR-15, WalMart does not sell adult-rated movie titles (i.e., those rated NC-17) or similarly rated video or computer games. Nor does it sell to children under 17 “‘R’ rated movies or ‘Mature’ rated video games.” Trinity Br. 12. Wal-Mart also doesn’t sell “music bearing a ‘Parental Advisory Label’” because of concerns about the music containing “strong language or depictions of violence, sex, or substance abuse.” Id. And 11 apparently due to safety concerns, it has stopped selling (1) handguns in the United States; (2) high-capacity magazines separate from a gun; and (3) guns through its website. Trinity Br. 13. Trinity attributes these perceived inconsistencies to the “lack of written policies and Board oversight concerning its approach to products that could have momentous consequences for both society and corporate reputation and brand value[.]” Trinity Br. 16.2