The Mayor announced the city's crackdown on realistic-looking toy guns. Over 30 stores were cited, fined, and asked to remove their toy guns; Jack's 99-cent stores agreed to a $50,000 fine and removed 2,000 toy guns from their shelves. The Mayor demonstrated the dangers of toy guns by showing a toy Luger that also seemed to have the heft of a real gun, "If you think this doesn't look to a police officer who wants to go home to his family like a real gun, you don't know what happens on the streets"; there have been 14 incidents of cops shooting people with toy guns in the past five years. Store are only allowed to sell guns that look fake, in colors like orange and purple.
Gothamist also has to applaud the Mayor's fighting words about the NRA: "Keep in mind, outlawing real guns is a problem in this country with the NRA. How any parent or caring human being looking at the carnage on the streets of this country and not want to outlaw guns I can't quite understand." If this is the new Bloomberg, we like it. We also like this photo of the mayor about to high-five a child at the press conference; the Mayor is either trying to remember how to high five or thinking, "Young man, study for the third grade test or you'll be held back!"
An article about the treasures you can find at 99 cent stores.
