A T-shirt that plays on the issue of domestic violence is generating plenty of controversy as well as getting attention from the Ontario government.

The shirt is sold at a St. Catharines clothing store and features a hammer dripping with blood above  a statement that reads, "she was asking for it.''

Premier Dalton McGuinty says he's not amused by the message.

"It's certainly something I find reprehensible, personally. I'll leave it up to the attorney general to determine if it is illegal," he told reporters Thursday at Queen's Park. "But I don't think it's in keeping with the standards shared by the people of this province."

Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant is equally appalled and calls the selling of the shirt "disgusting.'' He says he needs to find out more about the shirt, but he'll look into whether it violates hate crimes.

"If there's something we can do about it, we'll do it," Bryant told reporters.

Last week, protesters lined up outside the Cherry Bomb clothing store in the St. Catharines downtown to protest the shirt, which is displayed in the store's front window.

A resident of a local women's shelter organized the demonstration and called the T-shirt "offensive.''

Store manager Sarah Spencer had said the garment is meant to be humorous. The store notes that it also sells an accompanying women's T-shirt featuring a bloody pair of scissors and the caption, "He had it coming."

Store owner Kristin Falle says the women who work at the store understand the issue of domestic violence, but she says the store has the right to display whatever it wants in its windows.

Falle told the St. Catharines Standard last week: "Obviously it's in poor taste... It's more to mock the ignorance of a man who hits his woman."

The shirt's manufacturer, U.S.-based Jinxed Clothing, has issued a statement on its website.

"To everyone who has been protesting and sending complaints regarding our hammer shirt, we'd like to say we don't condone violence toward women. That being said, our entire line is centered around poking fun at taboo subjects like violence, suicide, religion, and death. To take these images at face value, is reactionary at best.

"Our sense of humor and designs are not for everyone."