The NY store sold $10 (€7.6) lighters measuring 3 inches (7.6 cm)

May 3, 2013 09:25 GMT  ·  By

A New York store owner is fighting a fee that he says will bankrupt him. The ticket has been issued following an inspection revealing that he sells lighters in the shape of guns.

Fred Shayes of US Camera & Computer Inc. near Penn Station has been selling 3-inch (7.6-cm) lighters who look like pistols for less than $10 (€7.6).

According to the NY Post, Shayes is fighting the fine in Manhattan's Supreme Court. The ticket was issued under a piece of legislation supported by Mayor Bloomberg, banning the sale of toys looking like guns.

As you can see in the photo accompanying this news article, the lighter is rather small, but the Department of Consumer Affairs insists that it can be taken for an actual gun.

“Imitation guns that are not easily distinguishable from real weapons pose a real and significant danger to public safety,” a spokeswoman for the DCA says in a statement.