Retailers To Pay New York $300,000 In Toy Gun Settlement
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Retailers including Walmart, Sears and Amazon have agreed to halt the sales of life-like toy guns in New York.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday that the retailers also have agreed to pay over $300,000 in penalties.
Schneiderman's office found that over 6,400 toy guns sold from 2012 to 2014 violated New York laws. Most of the toys were sold online. The deal requires those retailers to apply New York City's strict standards to sales statewide.
Retailers To Pay New York $300,000 In Toy Gun Settlement
"Year after year retailers chose profits over safety and in the process put thousands of New York kids at the risk of a tragic and even deadly encounter," Schneiderman said.
Schneiderman said there have been 63 shootings in New York since 1994 as a result of someone holding a toy weapon.
The push to regulate toy guns has increased since a Cleveland police officer fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in November as the boy was holding a realistic airsoft gun.
Retailers To Pay New York $300,000 In Toy Gun Settlement
New York state prohibits the sale of black, blue, silver or aluminum toy guns. New York City requires that imitation guns be brightly colored.
Leah Gunn Barrett with the group New Yorkers Against Gun Violence said now it's time for more rules regarding the real thing.
"Teddy bears and toy guns have more regulations than real guns," she said.
On Monday, Sen. Charles Schumer and comedian Amy Schumer teamed up to call for tighter gun control laws in an effort to stop mass shootings and gun violence.
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