New York: "New York sues Wal-Mart over toy gun sales "

[cuchulainn]

http://boston.com/dailynews/100/economy/New_York_sues_Wal_Mart_over_to:.shtml

New York sues Wal-Mart over toy gun sales

By Alicia Chang, Associated Press, 4/10/2003 11:27

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York state has sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc., accusing the nation's largest retailer of selling toy guns that lack safety markings to distinguish them from real guns.

Toy guns sold in Wal-Mart stores have an orange cap at the end of the barrel but lack non-removable orange stripes along the length of the barrel as required by state law, according to the lawsuit brought by state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

''Retailers doing business in New York state must comply fully with the state law that requires several distinctive markings on toy guns,'' Spitzer said Thursday.

Federal law requires only that the barrels of toy guns have orange caps.

Safety experts say brightly colored barrel caps and barrel stripes are necessary in helping police officers distinguish a toy gun from a real weapon. The extra safety measures are important because plastic barrel caps can fall off or be removed, they said.

Simply complying with federal law isn't enough, Spitzer said.

''States have always, in the context of consumer protection, established limits that reflects the reality of problems in their states,'' Spitzer said. ''It may be in North Dakota this isn't a problem, because they simply don't have this problem to deal with. We do. We're trying to protect children and we're trying to put law enforcement officers in the position to make the right decision.''

A message left with Wal-Mart corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., was not immediately returned Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed March 31 in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, seeks to prohibit the retailer from selling toy weapons in New York that violate state law and also seeks monetary penalties against the company.

The suit also alleged Wal-Mart sold toy guns in aluminum and black colors, which may be mistaken for actual firearms.

Improperly marked toy guns have led to deaths in New York. In March 2000, two teenagers from Brooklyn carrying toy guns were shot and killed by undercover detectives who did not realize the guns were fake.

Wal-Mart sold more than 42,000 toy guns in New York in the past 2½ years, according to Spitzer's office. Spitzer said he's unsure of Wal-Mart's profit in selling the toys or how many other states require the barrel markings.

© Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

 

[foghornl]

Oh, wow. I thought that California and the Peoples Socialist Republik of Chikago, ILL were bad, but now I am seriously concerned about New York State.

Well, if Wal-Mart stops selling those toys in NY, and parents have to tell Junior WHY he can't have his "Pistol Pete Double Western Six-Guns set" that cousin Jim in PA has, maybe some of the children will begin to understand what happens when you live in a Socialist Nanny State.

I know that is a stretch, but maybe, just maybe....

 

[CZ-75]

In related news, I see sales of black and silver spray paint more than doubling.

 

[Old Fuff]

You mean they allow unregulated sales of paint? Tell me it isn't true. And has anyone checked into black shoepolish? I'm going to go hide under the bed.

 

[Jeff White]

Lawsuits against deep pocketed businesses are the new way to fund government. California is suing Wal-Mart over selling real guns, New york over toy guns.

This is just another way of raising money without raising taxes. it's more acceptable for the retailer to raise taxes (in the form of prices) to cover their costs of doing business in the state then it is for politicians to raise taxes to pay for the government the sheeple demand.

It started with tobacco, now it's guns, don't think for a minute that some governor of some broke state isn't contemplatimg suing the fast food industry to recover medicade costs associated with obescity.

Jeff

 

[DadOfThree]

Improperly marked toy guns have led to deaths in New York.

Improperly marked toys didn't cause the death of those teenagers, improper behavior on their part did. Point a toy gun that looks real at someone, expect a response appropriate to someone pulling a real gun.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Can you still buy caps for cap guns in New York?

 

[suvdrvr]

How long before the bad guys figure out that they can paint the ends of their glocks orange and not fear being shot by cops in a shoot out?

 

[Carlos]

How long before the bad guys figure out that they can paint the ends of their glocks orange and not fear being shot by cops in a shoot out?

 

[sm]

toy gun sales

You've got to be kidding me.

See what happens when:
-Kids are not "taught"personal responsibility in the home--including firearms.
-Kids are brainwashed into letting the gov't take care of them.

Might as well lock up the kitchen, bath and other "areas of danger" in the home. I mean a kid might burn , scald, or run into a patio glass door.

Chillren I guess are expected to play with the hillary dolls and continue to be educated in sheeple mindset, they can grow up and continue the gene pool...until the cold snap of steel upon their skin--wait--never taught to think I forget. Reality is not in the peoplespeak language.