Colored guns, empty brains
I could scarcely believe it when I saw the story on TV. A Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, company, Lauer Weaponry, is selling real firearms painted in kandy colors to look like water pistols or other toy guns.
Run by fanatical National Rifle Association members, Lauer thinks its funny to sell weapons that could get a cop killed because he delays shooting someone carrying one of these colored guns, or kills a kid carrying a toy because he feared it might be real. A chirpy Valley Girl type that Lauer pushed in front of the cameras to defend the company was "sure" that cops will be able to tell a fake colored gun from a real colored gun in time to make the right decision. They even have one in "Barney Purple."
It's not a joke. People will die because of these guns. Lauer will be sued into the ground by the survivors of the first victim, but why wait until then? Congress and the 50 states should ban painted guns immediately. There is no legitimate reason for these guns to exist. Oh, wait: fashion? But it will be interesting, to be sure, to see how legislatures react. These are the folks who rush to ban things like liqueur-filled chocolates as a "threat" to teenagers, or who believe that allowing adults to easily order premium wines over the Internet will lead teenagers to evade the alcohol police.
This is a real threat. And something needs to be done to protect the public from one business' reckless drive for profits.