While crime continues to climb in many American cities, New York’s Attorney General Letitia James is focusing her office’s legal muscle on… toy guns. That’s right. The state just announced a settlement with Walmart after the retail giant’s online platform allowed third-party sellers to ship “realistic-looking” toy firearms to addresses across the state.
The grand total of this supposed threat? A whopping 49 toy guns sold over the span of more than three years. For that, Walmart will fork over $16,000—$14,000 in penalties and the rest in fees.
James proudly declared, “Realistic-looking toy guns can put communities in serious danger and that is why they are banned in New York.” According to her office, Walmart “failed to prevent” these sales, thereby endangering New Yorkers. It seems that somewhere in the midst of skyrocketing theft, open-air drug use, and shrinking police budgets, toy pistols became public enemy number one.
The law in New York requires toy guns to be obviously fake—brightly colored or made of transparent plastic. And while that might sound reasonable on the surface, the strict enforcement priorities reveal more about the state’s stance on symbolism than safety. Apparently, it’s easier to go after a corporate retailer over a few improperly hued plastic toys than address the deeper problems plaguing the state’s urban centers.
Walmart, for its part, isn’t pushing back too hard. The company released a statement saying it’s committed to “complying with all laws” and that they already have “processes in place” to ensure marketplace sellers meet legal standards. No admission of wrongdoing, of course, but a willingness to pay up and move on. When you’re the largest retailer in the world, $16,000 barely counts as a rounding error.
Letitia James, however, is treating this like a major victory. Her office even deployed a team of legal experts, data scientists, and investigators to track down these illicit toy sales. One has to wonder how many taxpayer dollars went into building a case worth less than the cost of a used sedan.
This case highlights the priorities of New York’s leadership. While real firearms are routinely trafficked illegally and violent crimes still plague many neighborhoods, the AG’s office is celebrating the seizure of squirt guns and pellet rifles sold online. The press release may as well have come with a plastic sheriff’s badge and a water balloon.
Of course, the broader concern here is control. It’s not about safety—it’s about extending the reach of regulation into every aspect of commerce, even into what toys your kids can play with. And with e-commerce continuing to boom, expect more cases like this from states eager to monitor and micromanage what comes through the mail.
So yes, Walmart is paying the price—for toys. Meanwhile, actual threats to public safety remain a little too real, and a little too overlooked.
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