Republican members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives are drawing scrutiny for wearing pearl necklaces while gun control activists shared their own experiences with gun violence at a recent hearing.
In images that made the rounds online this week, several Republican legislators could be seen donning the necklaces as lawmakers weighed arguments on a bill designed to establish a procedure for “issuing extreme risk protection orders to protect against persons who pose an immediate risk of harm to themselves or others.”
Critics say that the lawmakers were using “clutching their pearls” imagery to mock the testimony of the gun control activists.
The measure, known as House Bill 687-FN, would allow authorities and family members to obtain court orders that would restrict access to guns for potentially dangerous people.
Many took to social media to post pictures of the necklace-donning Republicans and condemn their choice to wear the necklaces as sexist and insensitive.
Many advocates who were also volunteers with the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America that were present at the hearing said they felt like the Republican legislators participating in the demonstration were mocking gun violence victims and disinterested in the effect gun violence has on victims.
