Wednesday, July 14, 2021 | 8:46 a.m.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish toy manufacturer Lego said Wednesday it had asked a Utah gun manufacturer to stop producing a product that would make a gun look like it’s covered in the famous multi-colored building block.
“We have contacted the company and they have agreed to remove the product from their website and no longer manufacture or sell anything like this in the future,” Lego said in a brief statement.
The design creates a bespoke semi-automatic Glock weapon that is very reminiscent of a Lego toy.
On his Instagram account, Provo-based Culper Precision said he did block 19 “to create an opportunity to talk about the joy of shooting and the joy that can only be found in marksmanship and training.”
“We here at Culper Precision are grateful for the attention Block19 is currently receiving around the world,” they said. They also insisted that people have the right to customize their property, but also noted that responsible gun owners take steps to secure their firearms.
The company did not immediately return messages requesting further comments. The product page for Block19 was removed on Wednesday.
Shannon Watts, founder of gun control group Moms Demand Action, posted the product on Twitter last week, calling it “a recipe for disaster” on Wednesday.
“We have seen tragedies when children have unsecured firearms around and they don’t look like toys,” she said in a statement. Accidental shootings by children or others increased by more than 30% between March and December 2020 compared to the same period in the previous year, the group found.
That surge comes during a record spike in U.S. arms sales that began with the coronavirus pandemic last year. Gun rights are politically important in conservative states like Utah, which this year joined several other states in relaxing gun laws by lowering demands on people to be allowed to carry guns in public.
Lego was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. The name is derived from the two Danish words LEg GOdt, which mean “play well”.
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Whitehurst reported from Salt Lake City.
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