Who owns Culper Precision? Company makes real Glock look like LEGO gun, sparks outrage
Culper Precision, a Utah-based company has found itself in hot waters after selling a kit that makes a real Glock pistol look like a children's LEGO toy gun.
The "Block19" consists of colorful plastic bricks, that look like LEGOs, to make the gun's covering. The semi-automatic weapon looks like a LEGO toy, therefore. The motive behind the product was to mimic "pretend guns" people made "out of the LEGOS you got from Santa". "We have been building guns out of blocks for the last 30 years, and wanted to flip the script to aggravate Mom," the since-deleted product description on the company's website read, according to the Washington Post. "There is satisfaction that can ONLY be found in the shooting sports, and this is just one small way to break the rhetoric from anti-gun folks and draw attention to the fact that the shooting sports are SUPER FUN. Guns are fun. Shooting is fun. Thirty rounds full auto is fun."
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Shannon Watts, founder of the group Moms Demand Action, which advocates for stricter gun controls, said that their "organization reached out to LEGO, which then sent a cease and desist letter to the reckless gun maker." The Danish manufacturer of the building blocks has legally demanded Cuper Precision to stop producing the red, blue, and yellow covering for handguns. The product was being sold for between $549 and $765, depending on the kind of modification on the gun.
Who owns Culper Precision?
The founder and chief executive officer of Culper Precision is Brandon Scott. "I'm a small business owner from Salt Lake City, I source and develop products for my own businesses and for e-commerce companies. I hold six US patents and am working towards the next 20," his bio on LinkedIn says. He is also the founder and president of Brave Response Shooting, in Salt Lake City, whose purpose is to share our knowledge and passion for real-world self-defense tactics.
He worked three years towards a construction management degree at Utah Valley University. He was previously the weapons certificate instructor of Utah State. He is also an NRA-certified instructor for basic pistol and protection in the home.
Scott confirmed to the Washington Post that he had received LEGO's formal notice and said the company had decided to stop manufacturing the 'Block19' after having sold less than 20 of the items. He added that the thought about how children might think the altered guns are toys had crossed his mind, in the wake of over 165 accidental shootings by children in the US this year alone, but it did not dissuade him from creating the kit. He cited the example of his own three kids and how he keeps all of his guns locked up in his home, which he expected responsible parents to do as well.
Scott added that if a child or one of his customers shot himself or someone else with the 'Block19' he will not be held responsible. "I know that in some places there are laws in place for negligence like that," he said. Moreover, maintaining that sports, like motorcycling, could be more deadly than the weapons, he said that he does not want the government "regulating common sense," and suggested that parents who let their children play with guns should not be penalized as the "pain and anguish caused by losing a child" would be enough of a punishment.
Backlash against Block19
On Wednesday, July 14, the company posted the following statement on Facebook: "People have the right to customize their property to make it look like whatever they want. It is our business to assist firearms owners in making their guns better reflect them as a person and individual, our pieces speak to the owner of the gun as they have selected those options from a seemingly infinite range of possibilities," it added. "Rather than live in fear of the loud voices on social media we decided to release Block19 in an attempt to communicate that it is ok to own a gun and not wear tactical pants every day and that owning and shooting firearms responsibly is a really enjoyable activity."
A number of people on Facebook spoke out against the product. "This is, without exception, the stupidest things I've ever seen offered for sale. The folks who designed it need to get their heads checked," a person wrote. Another said, "'That steps over the boundaries into being irresponsible." Kristin Song, who has been advocating for legislation that requires gun owners to lock up their weapons after her 15-year-old son died in 2018 after shooting himself, asked Washington Post, "How is this even legal?"