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http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/articleD0311C29530043B4932264F6BAF5340A.asp
Wal-Mart stops toy gun sales in N.Y.
By Alicia Chang
The Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. — Wal-Mart suspended sales of toy guns in its New York stores on Thursday after the state sued, accusing the retailer of selling toys that lack required safety markings to distinguish them from real weapons.
The toy guns have orange caps on their barrels, as required by federal law, but they don’t have nonremoveable orange stripes down the barrel’s length as New York law requires, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s lawsuit contends.
Safety experts say the brightly colored markings help police officers distinguish toy guns from real weapons, and that the permanent stripes are important because the plastic barrel caps can fall off or be removed.
‘‘In our continued efforts to be a responsible retailer, we have made the decision to suspend sales of all toy cap guns in New York,’’ Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart said in a statement Thursday. ‘‘This decision is based on the belief by the attorney general that some of the toy cap guns we are selling do not comply with the law.’’
Wal-Mart said it relies on the suppliers of their toys to deliver products that comply with local laws.