Guns that look like toys

Great Debates
1

With reference to the thread about the right to bear arms, what do those who advocate lassiez faire think about these?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57832053

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/2543/production/_119393590_legogun.png

2

I don’t love a fundamentalist reading of the Second Amendment, or a laissez-faire attitude towards guns.

That said, would even the most ardent gun-rights advocate disagree that nothing good can come from making guns that look like toys (and, as a corollary, toys that look too much like real guns)?

3

When I was a kid, it was common enough for elementary school kids like me to have a “Fanner 50” …

… that you could have a neighborhood kid ‘draw on you and fire,’ and you’d draw and return fire.

They were cap guns that just went ‘bang.’

There was also a model …

Called a Fanner 50 “Shootin’ Shell,” the gun, a single-action with rotating cylinder, featured a little spring that propelled low-velocity, .32-caliber-size metal cartridges much like a dart gun shoot darts. The range was only designed for across the room.

This was the 1950’s and 60’s.

Today ? Pffffft.

4

I don’t really have any problem with it. People can make their guns look like anything they want. I wouldn’t want to own it since I don’t want my kids to think of guns as toys but that is unique to me and my family.

5

I really like the Block19. I have a constitutional right to own any gun I want. Children don’t have a right to toys. If this gun (or one like it) becomes an issue, just make all toys illegal. Simple.

8

While most “safety” lawsuits against firearms are BS (mostly, suing gun makers for making guns because you can kill someone with a gun), I could see a genuine exception for making a working firearm disguised as a toy. That’s not even disguising it as a neutral object but as a toy intended for people to point them at others and pull the trigger. Considering the number of “accidental” (negligent) firearms injuries in the USA already, that’s just asking for trouble.

9

Warning and 1 Day suspension for additional trolling after an earlier warning today. Posting privileges were already being reviewed.

10

It has already been pulled.

It was a terrible idea. I can maybe see one being made made as a custom job, perhaps for a collector to display in a locked case and never use. I am not even a big fan of that.

11

The thing is though, that Americans live in a country where someone thought that this was a good idea.

12

I wouldn’t be surprised if they did this as a viral marketing plan to generate as much publicity as possible. Gun owners around the world are getting exposed to the company through news articles and social media posts. The people upset about this mod are not really their target market anyway. I’m guessing a Cease and Desist notice from Lego is the only consequence they’ll face. Whatever lawyer fees they incur will be completely offset by increased revenue.

13

Shrugs. The right to bear arms isn’t restricted to quaint looking wood stocks, it also includes scary looking black plastic stocks and these. Having said that, I don’t think these are a good idea even if they should be legal, but context matters. If an criminal is kicking down my door brandishing something that looks like Legos, I’m going to assume it’s a real weapon. If 8 year old kids are brandishing something that look like Legos while playing Cowboys and Indians in the park, I’m going to assume it’s not a real weapon. Weapons that look like toys aren’t a big problem because normally whether you’re an evil criminal or a citizen defending against them, you want something that looks like a real weapon for it’s intimidation value.

14

You are missing the point. You buy your kid one of these ‘toys’ and they shoot someone, hopefully you.

15

When I read the OP and looked at the image, I had several sequential reactions -

  1. Amusement/Disgust - Wow that looks stupid, looks uncomfortable to use or fire, and you’d look like an utter tool taking it out at a range, stupid safe queen joke.
  2. Disgust/Anger - Why make it if you’re going to make it useless? Is it art? And for that matter, why make it look like a toy. Too many people treat firearms as gee golly wiz toys anyway, why exaggerate that? You make all gun owners look like fools, and are violating the first mental rule of gun ownership, that a gun is a weapon - a dangerous one- and should be treated with caution at all times!
  3. Anger/Realization - How did they think they’d get away with this? It’s moronic, what sort of sophomore joke is this, of course they’d get sued. Wait . . . that’s the damn point. They’re doing this to drum up outrage (deserved!) and get ‘free’ advertising. The cunning F—s. Bastards are going to probably make money, but this really feels like the cigarette advertising aimed at kids. Hope LEGO sues the S–t out of them for damaging their brand, because the C&D is going to do zero harm to the jerks.
16

I’m moving a bunch of posts from a very similar thread over here, hang on.

18

Now, being a citizen of a less sophisticated country than the US I have no understanding of the locals gun culture.

And I usually avoid gun threads, much less consider starting one

But, maybe somebody could gently explain to this simple soul how there can be at least one person in a marketing department who thought this was be a good idea.

And also, for the 20 odd people who forked out USD700 for one, what might be their motivation to consider this as a must have for their collection?

19

Hard to beat free publicity. Lots more people know about the company now.

Normally I’d say Lego doesn’t have a case here. But the BLOCK19 logo is an obvious knockoff of Lego. I’m pretty sure a trademark infringement case would hold up in court, if it came to that. A generic brick design, though–not so much.

20

I suspect that for a substantial portion of the non-merkin world, the question posed wasn’t one regarding a commercial breach of trademarks.

21

If this allows police officers to claim that the toy gun the minor was displaying could be a Glock with possibly 30 rounds full auto so that shooting him really was more than justified then yes, it could be called a childhood dream come true for the director of the company. Proving intentionality will be difficult, though.

22

I guess I’m too used to silly-looking guns that have been around for ages, like this Hello Kitty AR-15 from 2008:

That was someone modifying their own weapon, but the principle is the same. There’s a certain level of demand for this sort of thing.