Nuns sue gunmaker to halt assault-style rifle sales

A group of activist Catholic nuns in the United States sued the board of gunmaker Smith & Wesson on Tuesday to abandon the manufacture, marketing and sale of its version of the AR-15 assault-style rifle that has been used in US mass shootings.

The nuns, who hold about 1,000 shares collectively of Smith & Wesson, filed the so-called shareholder derivative action in Nevada state court that alleges the publicly traded company's leaders are putting shareholders at risk by the way they have made and sold the rifle.

"These rifles have no purpose other than mass murder," they said in a statement.