Federal appeals court says Wal-Mart can exclude shareholder proposal on gun sales from proxy

A federal appeals court has ruled that Wal-Mart can exclude from its 2015 proxy statement a shareholder's proposal to review the sale of some guns.

The appeals court in Philadelphia on Tuesday reversed a 2014 ruling ordering Wal-Mart to include the proposal from Trinity Wall Street Church in New York.

A Delaware judge had declared that the proposal about guns with magazines holding more than 10 rounds should not have been excluded from 2014 proxy materials.

The Episcopal parish wants shareholders to vote on whether Wal-Mart's board should oversee the formulation of policies and standards on selling products considered especially dangerous or harmful to Wal-Mart's reputation.