Apple Replaces Gun Emoji with Water Pistol

"A symbolic gesture to limit gun accessibility."

8.2.2016

Apple will replace its gun emoji with a water pistol in its next version of the iPhone and iPad.

The water gun swap is not Apple's first foray into cartoon gun control. Earlier this year the governing body in charge of emojis nixed a proposed rifle emoji. It was one of a number of possible new additions, but Unicode Consortium members Apple and Microsoft argued against the Olympics-inspired gun, according to Buzzfeed.

The gun emoji has gotten some users in trouble. A 12-year-old in Virginia was charged after using the gun, knife and bomb emoji to threaten a school. A teenager in Brooklyn was arrested after using a police emoji with a gun pointed at its head.

The move is the result of a campaign by leftist group New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. The group sent a letter "as a symbolic gesture to limit gun accessibility."

"Apple has stood up to the bullying tactics of the NRA and gun industry by showing that there are many more life-affirming ways to express oneself than with a gun," said Leah Barrett, NYAGV's Executive Director on Monday.