Jan. 14, 2013: Center for American Progress Chief Neera Tanden, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chair of House Democratic Gun Violence task force, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (photo by Lynn Sweet)

Updated.

WASHINGTON--Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Monday he will ask the city pension funds to divest from any gun-related holdings, speaking at a Center for American Progress panel on proposals to curb gun violence.

Emanuel also said that any gun measures in Congress should start in the Democratic-controlled Senate and be focused on criminal access in order to increase leverage in the GOP-run House.

"I've ordered all the Chicago pension funds to check any of their investments, and we're going to -- if they have it, we're going to divest of any investments they have in any gun manufacturer," Emanuel said. He added that he wanted to "lead a charge also among mayors" towards divestment.

Following the event, the mayor was asked if he knew how much the pension funds had in any gun-related investment. "Ya never know until you check," Emanuel said.

Emanuel is asking City of Chicago Comptroller Amer Ahmad to scrub the portfolios of the five pension and retirement funds covering city workers to determine if they have any kind of holdings--direct, debt or other type of financing--related to gun manufacturers. And if they do, Emanuel wants the funds to drop the holdings.

Ahmad spokesman Kathleen Strand said, "The audit process will take a short amount of time, but we know that there are investments in companies that manufacture or sell assault weapons."