Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft Ban Smartphone Rifle Emoji

Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft are banning a rifle emoji that would have otherwise become available on smartphones later this month.

The Telegraph reports that Apple led the fight against the rifle emoji, but will allow a handgun emoji — depicting a revolver — to remain available for use.

According to The Guardian, the rifle emoji was “proposed as part of a set of new icons representing winter sports.” It was expected to depict the kind of rifle used “in the biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and shooting at a target.”

A campaign to stop the rifle emoji from becoming available actually faltered in its initial push. It was only after Apple joined the fray that the campaign succeeded. The new emoji update is slated to become available on June 21 and will include emojis like “Bat,” “Wilted Flower,” and “Glass of Milk.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.