Lego demands gunmaker stop selling pistol kit covered in toy bricks after public outcry

Referred to as a “Block19,” Culper Precision called its creation of a Lego-covered gun kit a childhood dream.

That dream, at least for now, has ended, as the United States-based gun company has pulled the Lego-encased gun kit from its online store. The move came after a request from Lego, the Denmark toy company.

“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 statement to The Associated Press.

Utah’s Culper Precision announced the launch of the kit in June. The company said consumers are able to build Legos on it, and the gun would work just like any other handgun.

The modification — with its red, yellow, blue and green bricks — resembles a toy gun. The company said of the product, “We wanted the second amendment to simply be too painful to tread on, so there was only one logical solution.”

The owner of Culper Precision told The Firearm Blog the kits would come with a set of Legos so that they could build sights and optics on the gun.

The blog wrote about the design last week, leading to a flurry of comments about whether the gun kit was appropriate.

“This, if real, is the most irresponsible gun modification I have seen in a long time,” one user said.

Multiple organizations, including Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, also criticized the product.

Moms Demand Action pointed to increases in unintentional shooting deaths by children as a reason why the gun kit should not be sold.

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action and of the Everytown coalition, thought the product was “sick and that children would die,” she told the Washington Post.

Lego, according to the Washington Post, sent a cease and desist letter to Culper Precision.

Before the product was taken offline, Culper Precision said it was grateful for the attention the Block19 was receiving.

“We built Block19 to create an opportunity to talk about the enjoyment of the shooting sports and the joy that can only be found in marksmanship practice and training,” the company said.

It did not respond to a comment from the AP about the gun kit being taken off its website.

This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Lego demands gunmaker stop selling pistol kit covered in toy bricks after public outcry."