Rihanna's new 'Gun' tattoo causes a stir

This week Rihanna decided to add two new tattoo's to her vast body art collection which currently include stars, a skull and crossbones, Arabic writing and an electric guitar. This time Rihanna opted for two Guns to be etched onto the top of her ribcage. As you can imagine, its causing a fair bit of controversy.

The tattoo's were done in a little independent Tattoo studio in LA called BangBang. Concerning Rihanna's new body ink, BangBang had the following to say on his website:

"I really wanted to put it here [on her arms]... She loved ‘em. But, Cover Girl wouldn’t have liked it much... and they pay the bills!"

The mis-use of Guns and Gun Crime is well documented as a large scale and almost uncontrollable problem in many countries across the globe. Many youngsters turn to violence as the only way to solve even minor problems and in the hope of building their street reputation, credibility or profile. Parents are now criticising the move branding the tat irresponsible. Rihanna is a high profile teen idol, they want to know why she would openly advocate the use of Guns by having such a tattoo done. One would expect it from a singer like Eminem, but not from Rihanna, a clean-cut singer whose fan base comprises typically of young girls and boys.

Rihanna's loyal tattoo artist BangBang has now spoken in her defence, taking all of the blame for the controversial inkings saying that it's a symbol of protection - not of violence.

“I’m a big advocate of guns. So I said, ‘How about a gun?’ “I printed out a picture of a gun that I thought would look good, and she loved it. “It’s powerful. It’s protection. At least that’s my interpretation of it.”

- Rihanna's tattoo artist at BangBang

Even so, does this mean guns should be deemed as one's source of protection, a solution to solve conflict? I think it's a tad thoughtless on Rihanna's part. Perhaps she should have considered the reason 'Cover Girl' may have disapproved. Have your say below in the comments section.

Judging from the amount she has at age 21, it seems the starlet might be developing a fetish for body art, move over Angelina Jolie! Check out Rihanna's other tattoo's here: