If you were hoping to get your hands on Culper Precision’s “Block 19” kit, you’re out of luck. Thanks to a cease and desist letter from LEGO, the Utah-based gun company is no longer selling the kit that allowed customers to customize their pistol to look like it was built from plastic bricks, but that’s not stopping online trolls and anti-gun activists from targeting the company.

Now Culper Precision is firing back at those who accused the manufacturer of making a product that’s dangerous and confusing to kids. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the company elaborated on the decision to release the kit and responded to their critics.

The post read: “We just want to extend a huge [kiss emoji] to all the block 19 haters out there. We have decided to take down the product after some communication with Lego.

“What does have us deeply concerned is the number of people who evidently grant their children unsupervised access to firearms [raised eyebrow emoji]. All of this was about the process of freedom, fun, and responsible gun ownership.”

It continued: “Yet there are millions of angry freedom-hating people out there who wish to exercise their first amendment rights. Thank you for your comments and responses, we’ve seen a lot of good and a lot of bad.

“Even now our Google reviews are being flooded with jaded reviews from anti-gun trolls who have never been customers. Here at Culper, we believe this makes a clear statements (sic) out the state of the gun debate and the sad reality of communication issues that run deep in this country.

“Having the discussion about the Block 19 and other modified Glocks was always something we wanted to do. So a big thank you to everyone who gave us some valuable input.”

As Newsweek points out, one of those leading the charge against Culper Precision was none other than Shannon Watts of Moms Demand Action, who complained that the Block 19 was “beyond irresponsible and dangerous,” adding that “even when guns don’t look like toys, children may use them. In 2021, we’ve seen over 165 incidents of unintentional shooting by children.”

Well that’s the real issue, isn’t it? And none of those unintentional shootings involved a firearm that looked like it was made from LEGOs.

I’m all in favor of encouraging safe and responsible gun ownership, but we can’t ignore the fact that many of these unintentional shootings are happening as a result of illegal possession of a firearm. That was the certainly the case in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where 14-year old girl was shot earlier this week.

The suspect was identified by authorities as 20-year-old Da’Juan Waxter of Baton Rouge.

Late morning on July 13, authorities responded to a shooting at the 500 block of Fife Lane in LaPlace. A 14-year-old girl was found lying on the floor with a gunshot wound in her back, the sheriff’s office reported.

Authorities determined that the shooting was accidental since the investigation revealed that the gun was discharged by mistake and the bullet traveled through a wall before striking the victim in the living room.

The victim was transported to a New Orleans hospital for her injuries.

After the accidental shooting, Waxter had left the scene and threw the weapon into a trash can, authorities said. Deputies were able to find Waxter in the area.

Authorities said that the firearm was reported stolen from Gonzales.

This unintentional shooting didn’t happen because the gun looked like a toy. A 14-year old was shot because a 20-year old was acting like a dumbass with a stolen firearm.

Culper Precision is right that it’s up to parents to ensure not only that they’re storing their firearms responsibly, but that they’re teaching their kids about firearms safety. That’s the best way to reduce accidents involving guns, no matter what those firearms might look like. The trolls and anti-gun activists like Watts (do I repeat myself?) will inevitably focus on the gun itself because they see guns as the problem. For the rest of us, however, it’s ignorance and criminal behavior that are the real issues.