Where’s the self-congratulatory press conference for this law enforcement action? You know how government so often likes to make a display of what it wants to be the scourge of society, to line up the bags of coke after a drug bust, to break barrels of moonshine in the streets or wave around what it sees as dangerous guns (all the while resting their finger on the trigger)? The attorney general for the State of New York has issued cease and desist letters to places like Walmart, Amazon and K-Mart for selling toy guns in violation of the state’s toy laws that require orange striping running down the barrel. As a result, New York is leveling a total of $300,000 in civil penalties against the retailers.

Already, some online retailers like moretoyguns.com said they will cancel any toy order that is sold to someone in New York. “When toy guns are mistaken for real guns, there can be tragic consequences,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. “New York State law is clear: retailers cannot put children and law enforcement at risk by selling toy guns that are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.” So where is the press conference where the AG delicately handles some plastic toy made in China and declares it’s a public threat?

The AG justified his action by saying four people have been killed and at least one child injured in his state during the last 18 years because someone mistook toy guns for the real thing. In 2010, The New York Times reported there was no national statistic for how many children choke on food, with hot dogs being one of the biggest offenders. And to think those death dogs are openly sold in the city of New York. You’d think the AG would get right on that, because y'know, for the children.