Social media outrage was sparked this week after a prominent gun violence prevention advocate shared a photo of Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire wearing pearl necklaces at a hearing about a proposed gun safety law.

On Tuesday, according to theNew Hampshire Union Leader,members of The Women’s Defense League of New Hampshire, a gun rights group, handed out the necklaces to members of the committee.

The hearing was onHouse Bill 687, a “red flag” gun law that would allow family and law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily confiscate firearms from people who “pose an immediate risk of harm to themselves or others.”

In attendance were both supporters and critics of the bill, theUnion Leaderreported. Men in the audience also wore pearls.

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, tweeted out photos of the hearing. She wrote that she felt the pearls were to “mock” her group’s volunteers and other advocates for gun reform.

According to theWashington Post, the three clearly identifiable lawmakers wearing the pearls are Republicans.

Watts’Tuesdaytweetshave received thousands of responses, many of them harshly critical of the lawmakers’ behavior.

But Kimberly Morin, president of the Women’s Defense League of New Hampshire, told theUnion Leaderthe pearls had been misunderstood.

“At the hearing for constitutional carry in Reps Hall, three of us were dressed in business professional clothes, wearing pearls, and someone from Moms Demand said they wouldn’t testify because they felt they were in front of a firing squad,” Morin told the paper. “So we’ve been wearing pearls in defense of women’s rights and the Women’s Defense League since then, because we are moms just like they are only on different sides.”

Morin was more emphatic on Twitter,replying directlyto Watts and another user: “These legislators are wearing pearls to SUPPORT the Women’s Defense League who support ACTUAL women’s rights.”

According to theUnion Leader, members of the Women’s Defense League have worn pearls since 2016 and gave the governor some at a bill signing that expanded concealed carry.

Republican Rep. David Welch told the paper he wore the pearls to symbolize his political opposition to the bill. “They gave them out to a whole bunch of us,” he said.

Speaking with theUnion Leader, Watts said she felt the necklaces were nonetheless “symbols that essentially mocked the process.”

Speaking with thePost, she said, “When you are a male lawmaker and you come to a hearing wearing a pearl necklace and a semiautomatic rifle pin, you sort of lose control of the narrative. It seems like a pretty foolish choice.”

Neither The Women’s Defense League of New Hampshire nor Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America immediately responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

source: people.com