A primer for consumers.

Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza killed his mother, a volunteer teacher, with a .22-calibre Savage Mark II bolt-action rifle.

He then took two semi-automatic handguns, one semi-automatic rifle and one semi-automatic shotgun to the elementary school where he gunned down 20 students and six staff.

The Savage Mark II bolt-action rifle is manufactured in Lakefield, Ont., for Savage Arms (Canada).

Terry McCullough, vice-president of Savage Arms (Canada), says the Lakefield operation is the exclusive manufacturer of this rifle for parent company Vista Outdoor Inc., headquartered in Farmington, Utah. (What was originally Lakefield Arms had a long Canadian history until domestic sales started sinking like a stone. The company was sold south of the border in 1994 but retained its manufacturing base in Ontario.)

Vista Outdoor — such a heaven-sent name — trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Its product lines include pistols, shotguns and ammunition. The company is currently running a Second Amendment campaign: for every $75 (U.S.) spent in its “shooting sports” segment, purchasers will receive a “Pass the Ammunition” T-shirt. Anyone who spends $225 or more will receive an Armageddon gear ammo bag.

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Vista additionally has a huge presence in the gentler outdoors. Bell mountain biking helmets, Bollé ski goggles and CamelBak hydration equipment (water bottles, hydration packs, etc.) are just a few of its product lines, the sort of fit-for-life gear found at Sporting Life, or Sail, or Mountain Equipment Co-Op.

Of this group, the member-owned Mountain Equipment Co-Op is singularly under fire. In the wake of the massacre in Parkland, Fla., which left 14 students and three adults dead, co-op members are petitioning the company to cease selling any products made by any of the Vista brands.

In a tweet, MEC responded that it would be asking some “tough questions” about its supply chain. On Monday night, the Vancouver-based company that built its reputation by catering to Canadian campers, skiers and bikers peacefully communing with the great outdoors, tweeted that it had heard from thousands of members. The input had been diverse, the company noted. There were differences of opinion, the company said. An update was promised for Tuesday, which had not been released by deadline.

Let’s be clear: there is no direct connection between the Parkland shooting and any of the Vista subsidiaries.

But the Parkland tragedy reminds us once again that the interconnection between consumers and firearm manufacturers has grown ever more intricate. To say nothing of the implications for pension plans.

Across the span of a few days, numerous companies severed their relationships with the National Rifle Association. MetLife, Hertz, United — that’s just a sample of the big companies cancelling discounts that had been offered to members of the NRA.

On the other hand, FedEx, which says it is firm in its opposition to assault rifles ending up in the hands of civilians, which is nice, says it will continue to offer discount shipping rates to NRA members.

Last Thursday, a bill was introduced in the New Jersey legislature seeking to prohibit the investment of government pension funds in gun and ammunition makers. The Florida Education Association is pushing that state’s retirement system pension plan to divest its holdings in four gun makers, including Vista and American Outdoor Brands (formerly Smith & Wesson).

On the other hand, Iowa’s Public Employees’ Retirement System, with $32 billion in assets, said Tuesday it was standing firm, citing “sound investment policies” (translation: investment returns trumping social considerations).

So MEC is right in this regard: there’s a difference of opinion here.

But.

MEC doesn’t bear any fiduciary responsibilities ruled by Wall Street or Bay Street.

And it’s not caught up in any pension battles.

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As a co-operative, its first duty of care is to its members, to whom it has pledged such signature traits as integrity, co-operation, leadership.

This should not be a hard decision for the company to make.

Perhaps it is simply too difficult to refrain from the personal in this column, to blot out the image of my three small boys heading off to Grade 1 in the same green MEC parka. Hand-me-down to hand-me-down. To a school where the teachers were not, as President Trump phrases it, “gun adept.”

jenwells@thestar.ca