"It financially hurts us not to have them on the shelf, but I think the whole issue transcends mere numbers--it's a matter of community relations," Nee says.

But isn't it just a water gun? Wasn't Murphy Brown just a TV show? Maybe a harmless entertainment is being blamed for unrelated social problems. Greg Miller, media relations specialist for Child World toy stores, certainly thinks so.

"it seems kind of silly...It seems as it this squirt gun has been chosen to be the scapegoat for larger problems," says Miller, "It is just a squirt gun, after all."

Although child World has several locations throughout the suburbs it has no outlets in the city and felt little compulsion to heed Flynn's letter.

Some Boston stores are rising to the challenge, including just For Fun, the Sharper Image and Urban Outfitters. According to employees at Just for Fun, a toy store in Newbury Street, "anything can be dangerous, What about a baseball bat?"

Beneath that attitude lies a deeper conviction among toy store owners: that stores can't and shouldn't try to second guess the few who will misuse the toy--it's impossible and short-changes the majority of customers who will not misuse the squirt gun.

At Urban Outfitters in Cambridge, there is a principle to defend. "I think people are going to be able to decide for themselves. If someone wants to get it, they should have the option," says the manager, "It's not something that should be banned across the country."

A squirt gun is an unlikely symbol for a libertarian movement and "getting government off our backs." But if store owners are denied one of their most popular toys in a recession starved economy, the nest slogan heard on the streets of Boston could be "live free or dry."