Controversy in the United States over a pistol

An American company has sparked controversy by marketing Lego-like pistol covers, while firearms kill hundreds of children every year in the United States.

This move prompted the Danish company "Lego" to send an official letter of protest to the company in question.

"Our organization contacted LEGO who then sent a formal letter of protest to the irresponsible gun manufacturer," Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, which campaigns for gun control, wrote on Twitter.

With its red, yellow and blue coatings that make it dangerously toy-like, this semi-automatic weapon manufactured by Calber Precision in the western state of Utah, called the Block 19, costs between $549 and $765.

"This is one of our childhood dreams come true," the company said in a promotional post to "Block 19" via Instagram on June 24.

Watts wrote on Twitter: "This is an irresponsible and dangerous act unimaginable. Even when weapons don't look like toys, kids can use them.”

"In 2021, there were more than 165 accidental shootings by children," according to figures from Evertown.

According to the same source, 142 people were killed last year after "unintentional shooting" by children or minors.

Calper Precision president Brandon Scott confirmed to The Washington Post that he had received formal notice from LEGO and decided to comply with its demands, after selling fewer than 20 Block 19 pistols.

This controversy comes at a time when US President Joe Biden has made combating the "epidemic" of gun violence in the United States one of his state's priorities.