Should a firearm be a fashion statement?

 

 

 Rihanna was pictured earlier this month in Santa Monica with a Saint Laurent clutch emblazoned with handguns and a purse shaped like a revolve

The singer’s no stranger to wearing guns; in 2012, she wore a gold vintage Chanel gun motif choker necklace, and she has a tattoo of a gun on her ribcage.

   “Many women view guns as symbols of their power to defend themselves (and their families),” Volokh says. “Men are often bigger and stronger than women; they don’t need a weapon to victimize women.  But women often need weapons to defend themselves, and guns are particularly effective weapons in this respect.  A woman displaying gun-related items may be trying to send a message:  “I am prepared to defend myself; if you attack me, you will pay the price; and I support other women who want to do this, too.”

 In fact, Rihanna has said of her tattoo, “The gun was a symbol of strength. I’ll never be a victim.”On the other hand, some designers are using gun symbols and parts subversively, as a way to support getting rid of them.