Lego Says No Way To Utah Gunmaker’s Toy-Like Pistol

PROVO, UT — Lego this week sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Utah-based gun company, asking it to stop selling a customization kit for a Glock 19 pistol that makes it look strikingly like a children’s toy.

The Block19, created by Provo-based Culper Precision, is fashioned by supergluing miscellaneous pieces of what appear to be Lego’s famous multi-colored building bricks over a Glock 19 pistol.

The purpose of the weapon? “We wanted the second amendment to simply be too painful to tread on, so there was only one logical solution,” Culper Precision said in an Instagram post showcasing the gun.

The company also said it wanted the Block19 to represent "the pure enjoyment of the shooting sports."

“We have contacted the company and they have agreed to remove the product from their website and not make or sell anything like this in the future,” Lego said in a brief statement to The Associated Press.

As of Thursday, the gun was no longer for sale on the company’s website.

"Our business is taking a firearm of known value and transforming it into a personalized invaluable treasure for a fair price," the company said in a statement on its website. "People have the right to customize their property to make it look like whatever they want. It is our business to assist firearms owners in making their guns better reflect them as a person and individual, our pieces speak to the owner of the gun as they have selected those options from a seemingly infinite range of possibilities."

The company prefaced that statement by also saying it has “long been the expectation of the firearm community” that responsible owners take the necessary steps to secure their firearms.

Still, even gun owners weren’t impressed by the customization.

In the comments section of a gun blog that featured an interview with Culper Precision’s president, some definitely weren’t on board with the idea.

“I’m a gun owner and a parent of three children. I can’t think of a more 'attractive nuisance' better designed to tempt a child into thinking that this is a toy,” one user wrote.

“Sure, let's make a LETHAL WEAPON look like a fun kid's toy that your 4 year old would want to play with. What could POSSIBLY GO WRONG????” another wrote.

“This, if real, is the most irresponsible gun modification I have seen in a long time. Perfect fodder for the ‘Everytown for Gun Safety’ people. Not a help,” another wrote.

Gun safety advocates were also quick to condemn the idea.

Shannon Watts, founder of gun safety group Moms Demand Action, said in a statement to Insider that decorating firearms with one of the most popular children’s toys was a “recipe for disaster.”

“We have already seen tragedies happen when unsecured firearms are around children and they don't look like toys,” Watts said. “Too many children's lives are cut short by unintentional shootings every year — and in the past year we've only seen these tragic instances happen more frequently."

Between March and December 2020, there was a 31 percent increase in unintentional shooting deaths by children of themselves or others, compared with the same time period in 2019, according to research from Everytown for Gun Safety.

That increase also comes during a record-breaking surge in U.S. gun sales that began as the coronavirus pandemic took hold last year.

Gun rights are politically important in conservative states such as Utah, which joined several other states in loosening gun laws this year by rolling back requirements for people to get permits to carry guns in public, The AP reported.