Apple bans rifle emoji

HOUSTON – Smartphone users have over 99 emojis but a rifle won’t be one.

Unicode, the organization tasked with approving and coding new emojis, was met with a firm opposition from tech giant Apple to add a rifle and pistol emoji according to Buzzfeed news.

Apple led the decision while 12 other companies followed in its footsteps including Google and Facebook. The rifle emoji was intended to represent the biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It was one of the many Olympic sport-themed icons set to be added to the roster.

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The push to pull the trigger on this specific gun emoji caused confusion among many as Apple already has a number of other weapon emojis including the handgun, bomb, and knife.

Apple and the rest of the Silicon Valley companies have yet to comment on their anti- rifle emoji- vote. In the meantime, smartphone users shouldn’t expect the rifle emoji to make a debut anytime soon.