Two shareholder advocacy groups are carrying the fight for gun responsibility to another level by asking investors to withdraw their support of officers at a major gun manufacturer.

Majority Action and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility said Wednesday they have called on shareholders of Sturm, Ruger & Co. to withhold support from the board chairman, Michael Jacobi, and Director Sandra Froman, a former president of the National Rifle Association. The complaint is that the gun manufacturer has refused to engage with shareholders about risk oversight, governance failures and the loss of shareholder value.

Sturm Ruger has experienced declining sales and profitability two years in a row, and it has seen a 12.9 percent decline in total shareholder return since November 2016.

Sturm Ruger and other gunmakers have come under increased pressure from investors and gun safety advocates to help provide solutions to mounting episodes of gun violence, said Majority Action and ICCR. This mounting pressure follows the 2018 Parkland, Fla., high school massacre. It also follows a lawsuit against a competing firearm manufacturer, Remington Arms Company, filed by the families of victims in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.

In a 2018 shareholder resolution, investors demanded a report on measures Sturm Ruger has taken to mitigate the business risks of gun violence associated with the company’s products, which passed with more than two-thirds shareholder support. The company has rejected corporate responsibility for improving gun safety and refused to acknowledge the risks to long-term shareholder value, the advocacy groups said.

“As chair, Michael Jacobi bears ultimate responsibility for Sturm Ruger’s strategy and performance. Instead of playing an independent role on behalf of shareholders, Jacobi has personally joined CEO Christopher J. Killoy in rejecting meaningful dialogue with major shareholders concerned about long-term value creation and corporate responsibility,” said Eli Kasargod-Staub, executive director of Majority Action.

The organizations asked investors to withhold support from the two Sturm Ruger leaders at the company’s meeting in May.