GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) -- Nassau County officials are targeting the brightly colored handguns manufactured by a Wisconsin company that has used them to taunt New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
County Executive Tom Suozzi said in a statement Wednesday that he would work closely with the county legislature to ban the possession and sale of colored weapons from companies like Lauer Custom Weaponry.
The Chippewa Falls, Wis., company is selling the ``Bloomberg Collection'' featuring a paint kit of five colors, Brooklyn Blue and Manhattan Red among them. The company puts a painting of Bloomberg's face on some of these weapons at gun shows to showcase the collection, but those are not available for purchase.
The gun company says the collection is its way of thanking Bloomberg for publicity he generated when he banned the paints in 2006.
``To think that this manufacturer would mock the efforts of Mayor Bloomberg to enhance police officer safety is an insult to all the dedicated law enforcement officers who sometimes have to make split second decisions on the use of deadly physical force,'' said Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey.
Lauer, the only manufacturer of the DuraCoat paints, has seen sales increase since Bloomberg's ban, especially on the East Coast, said Amy Lauer, operations manager for the company. ``We got a lot of publicity from it,'' Lauer said. ``We had all these people calling us, wanting us to create more bright colors for them.''
Bloomberg banned the use of paints on guns in 2006, saying the playful colors endanger police officers who must quickly determine whether guns are toys or real when someone brandishes a weapon.
Gun control has been a Bloomberg priority in his second term and is an issue he has used to gain national attention.
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