Apple Entering Gun Debate? Tech Giant Kills Off Gun Emoji, Replaces Symbol With Green Water Pistol [VIDEO]
Seemingly stating its stance on the controversial gun issue in the United States, Apple has announced an update to its emoji line for its upcoming mobile OS, iOS 10. What is particularly interesting is that the tech giant has completely removed the realistic pistol emoji in its lineup of symbols, replacing it with a harmless, green water gun emoji instead.
Thus, for iOS 10, one thing seems clear. Water is in, bullets are definitely out.
The removal of the pistol emoji is but one of the updates in the tech giant's symbol lineup, however, as Apple would also be introducing a number of revamped female emojis depicting women in stereotypically male jobs. Female athletes, a Pride flag, and single parent family emojis are also set to be rolled out for iOS 10.
While the replacement of the realistic gun emoji to a water pistol has been deemed by many to be an unnecessary change in Apple's lineup of emojis, it has been welcomed warmly by anti-gun advocates nonetheless.
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, an anti-gun organization which actually petitioned Apple to disarm the iPhone, has responded with optimism to Apple's upcoming emoji update. Leah Barrett, the NYAGV's Executive Director, stated her approval on Monday.
"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," she said.
It's not like the gun emoji has not caused trouble in the past, anyway, as the use of the pistol emoji in iOS has already landed a number of people in trouble with the law.
In one instance, a 12-year-old girl from Virginia found herself charged after she uploaded an Instagram post threatening her school. She had used a gun, knife and bomb emoji.
Similarly, a Brooklyn teen has also found himself in trouble with the law after uploading a post that featured a police emoji with pistol emojis pointed at the officer's head. Though the charges were ultimately dropped, these incidents nonetheless show how the use of the emoji can be interpreted as a legitimate threat.
The use of the gun emoji has become central in a French case, as well, after the court ruled that a man's text to his ex-girlfriend, which prominently featured the gun emoji, constituted a legitimate death threat. The man in that incident was eventually sentenced to three months in prison.
