Whether pink guns are sexist, silly, fashion overkill or a regrettable impulse buy, the firearm industry is capitalizing on the fact that "girls with guns" are a viable consumer target and pink guns have appeal. Men are also being pulled into the pink gun market and they are buying firearms with bling as gifts for the shooting women in their lives.
Here are five reasons why some people think pink guns are the worst:
1. Pink guns are just a marketing ploy to raise the demographic profile of women in the NRA.
According to NBC News, there is "an overwhelming gender gap that could cause a problem for the NRA. The group claims 5 million members, but just a fraction of them are women. Foster said the NRA has a goal of reaching 500,000 women members by 2014 - so right now, women make up less than 10 percent of the organization. More than half of the electorate, of course, are women."
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2.
The Shooters Log clarifies what is most important in a firearm purchase. "When picking out a gun for a girl - fit, feel and caliber are much more important than what is typically marketed as a 'woman’s gun.' When looking to buy your first gun for personal defense, make your choice on what fits you best, not what color matches the majority of your outfits. There are four major aspects you need to consider before rushing out and getting the first pink-gripped, small-barreled revolver you see. Just like dating, caliber, reliability, shootability, and ease of use are more important than looks."
3.
Business Insider reported on a story in which a 7-year-old child thought an unsecured pink gun was a toy and shot, and killed her 3-year-old brother with it. "Maybe a pistol with attachments to hold a stuffed animal, or side chambers for dum-dum lollipop bouquets would be more appealing to kids than a pretty-pink-pistol, but not by much."
4. "Let me get this straight: Children are not allowed to have toy guns that look like the real thing, but adults are allowed to have the real thing that looks like a toy? That has got to change. This isn’t about 'gun control,' it’s about something closer to simple decency," is one quote in
a report by The Truth About Guns discussing the issue of pink guns.
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5. According to Compton California school police officer Lorenzo Gray, custom color guns make "the job of the police officers really difficult: they might mistake a fake toy gun for a real one, and might shoot accidentally, in self-defense,"
reports Mother Jones.
The Well Armed Woman makes an important point about girls with guns. "Women are eager to learn how to handle a gun safely and with confidence. This is evidenced by the fact that gun safety classes across the nation are filled to capacity with women. The male driven gun industry now needs to be eager to learn how to meet the needs of these women. Yes, pink is a very nice color and makes for a very attractive gun or holster, but the needs of women go much deeper than pink. What women want is a gun they can be comfortable with, shoot proficiently, carry comfortably and one that will do what it is meant to do, stop an attacker."