Little kids have been playing with toy guns since they were first manufactured by toy companies and even before then by shaping objects like sticks into guns to play cowboys or train robbers or whatever else their little minds could conjure.

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Playing with toy guns in New York is going to look a little different as Governor Kathy Hochul has signed new legislation which will toughen up restrictions on toy guns and what are called "imitation weapons".

Years ago, a rule was made that toy guns needed to have a bright tip to indicate that it was not an actual weapon but rather a toy. Now, New York state law specifies that imitation weapons must be even more easily identified and so, they will no longer be allowed to come in the colors black, blue, silver, or aluminum.

Statistics released by the governor's office show that there have been 63 shootings where an imitation weapon was used but mistaken for the real thing, leading to eight fatalities.

It isn't just the color of the imitation weapons that will be changing though. As part of the new law, toy guns must be brightly colored and the color used to manufacture it must be white, bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright blue, bright pink, bright purple, or it must be completely transparent or translucent such as completely clear plastic.

This imitation weapons law has already applied to toy guns sold in New York City, but this passage of the law, according to the office of Governor Hochul means that the rest of the state will now have to follow the same rules that the City does.

In a press release, Governor Hochul said,

My top priority as governor is keeping New Yorkers safe...restricting these realistic-looking devices will ensure misleading and potentially dangerous devices are off our streets, keeping kids, law enforcement and all New Yorkers safe.

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