Attacking the machismo of gun ownership
I was reading an article recently about how toy gun makers are required by law to use bright colors on their toy guns in order to be able to sell them in the US. We all remember the tragic Tamir Rice story and why such laws are important. One toy maker was quoted as saying that even though their toy is shaped and detailed so it looks exactly like the real gun it is modeled after, requiring them to cast it in brightly colored plastic -- instead of being black or silver -- has caused their sales to drop dramatically. It seems little kids do not like the brightly colored models because they do not look "tough" like the darker models do.
We know that for many mass shooters, the guns they chose to murder innocents was a source of machismo for them. Owning AR-styled weapons made them feel "manly" and "tough" because the guns looked "badass". Maybe it isn't toy guns that we should be forcing to get a makeover.
If the 2nd Amendment won't let us block the sale of assault rifles (according to some), then let's make them less "macho" to own. I suggest we push for legislation requiring gun makers to make their AR-styled rifles come in only one color: HOT PINK! This would be done out of concern for safety, and would not restrict gun owners from exercising their 2nd Amendment rights in ANY way. If you want to buy a HOT PINK AR15 and take it to the range, we support your right to do so! We know that this won't hinder hunters from being able to hunt since they are wearing brightly colored gear already!
Or course, we will have to have strict financial penalties and mandatory prison time for any who attempt to alter the color of their firearm, but I am guessing that won't be a problem as those type of laws already exist for other items that we require to be a certain color to serve as a warning for others.
Do you think mass shooters are secure enough in their masculinity to commit acts of violence using HOT PINK guns? We may not be able to get the guns off the street, but we can do something to make it so no one on the streets wants one!
= new reply since forum marked as read
In many of the informal matches, lots of men get really upset when women beat them using pink ARs. 
...the mix of misconceptions and miss guided solutions in this OP. Here's what I have.
Of course it's a good idea to have toy weapons easily distinguishable from the real thing. I remember at least two cases of the police killing a young male because they held a gun that looked real but wasn't.
Let's start here:
I have several issues here. Laws like 15 CFR 272 were well intentioned with the goal of decreasing the incidence of police killing young folks for playing with toys. My conclusion of what's happened over the last three decades is that the heinous killings of young folks by law enforcement has less to do with the color of the toy and more to do with the color of young person. At best maybe this law does something to help white kids.
I remember parents reacting to violence and primarily guns but also various toy weapons since the '60s and not allowing their children to have them at all. I think the colorization has not much to do with the drop in sales weapon toys.
Also, the extrapolation that school shooters (who average about 16) have the same (ill founded) mindset as the six year olds who no longer spend their whole paychecks on pink and orange toy guns.
Next, I consider:
I've decided that much of what is claimed and concluded by the restriction set in this thread is mostly just a lot of feelings.