[swordtart]

Way back int he 70 when I first started out with LEGO all bricks were primary colours but green was specifically excluded (other than for baseboards and trees). There was no brown either. This was apparently in an attempt to stop children from making "war toys" with them (a very 70's concept in itself). It didn't stop us, we just made tanks that were red or white instead. A bigger issue was that pretty much all LEGO was square. Every vehicle ended up looking like a Volvo.

The original Lego Knights didn't have armour, just blue outfits and a tabard. They did have swords and poleaxes but the swords were rounded and lego people cant wield axes two handed so the poleaxe was evidently purely ceremonial. They didn't have any opponents and the only conflict was in the joust set.

The along came the forest people with their bows and arrows and suddenly there was an arms race. Black nights appeared and there was a tangible enemy. Then factions. Then fright nights. Then orc and undead. Now we have Nexo Knights who seem to spend all their time in combat..

I fear that the modern LEGO corporation is more in tune with cash flow than high ethical stances. It's probably not their fault, if you are a small company you can do as you wish and if it affects profits then it is your choice. As you grow into a huge industry (and get group added to your name) you have shareholders to satisfy, you become the target of pressure groups etc. etc. To feed that cash flow you tie into franchises and those franchises often come with ethical baggage.

LEGO has had some success in reconstructing those franchises into uniquely LEGO variants (LEGO Batman for example) and has an opportunity to feed off the popularity but also manage the ethical content.

There is also the fact that there are plenty of rival brick manufacturers now. LEGO having a stance won't stop others from filling the void (Megabloks had unashamedly military models). Once that happens, is LEGO Group taking a moral stance going to make any tangible difference other than eroding their market share (meaning they have a smaller platform to espouse an ethical stance).

All the above notwithstanding, whether or not LEGO makes guns, guns will be made with LEGO. If the world were to universally embrace this wholeheartedly and all guns were made only from LEGO, the world would be a happy, primary coloured place again.