In my limited expertise of what women love (that’s according to my wife), there are
many things that make a woman feel special: chocolate, the occasional flowers for no reason, chocolate, that special birthday card, chocolate, thoughtful jewelry, chocolate, a rub on the back, chocolate, a tender kiss for no reason, chocolate!  You get the message, but GUNS?

The NRA states that women represent the largest demographic increase in gun ownership over the past three years.  According to USA Today, gun retailers experienced a 61% increase in female shoppers between 2009 and 2010 alone.  And the National Sporting Goods Association reports that female target shooters grew over 46% between 2001 and 2010.  An October 2010 Gallup Poll identified that 23% of women owned a gun.

While those trends may be considered thought-provoking, the increased feminine interest in weaponry has sparked another trend:  If it shoots, it must be PINK.

Yes, PINK is the latest fashion in weaponry.  All things lethal must also be available in pink.  There are pink guns, pink ear protectors, pink shell pouches and (my favorite) the pink “Pistol Packing Princess” sticker for your car or home window.  There are even purses with pistol holsters as the perfect accessory for that special night out.

Gun and gun accessory manufacturers are scrambling to make their products more appealing to the female market segment.  Obviously, gray or black is no longer the color of protection, which is the primary reason a lady owns a gun.

We own guns for a variety of reasons but, statistically, the main reasons are for
protection against crime, target shooting and for hunting (in that order).  More women than men claim to own a gun for crime protection, whereas it’s nearly equal for men and women owning a gun for target shooting.  And more men report owning a gun for hunting than do women, but only by an 18% margin on average.

At any rate, I came upon this information recently and it fascinated me.  I know women carry pistols in their purses, but I’ve never seen a pink one.  As a writer, my first thought was that I would use a pink gun as the usual accessory for one of my characters.  I’m sure some of my friends who write crime novels are thinking the same thing.

Thoughts?  Comments?  I’d love to hear them.