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Deep-rooted gun culture

Ed Pilkington

New York: They are calling it the ``Bloomberg Gun GiveAway''. On Thursday, two gun shops in the state of Virginia will stage a competition: anyone spending more than $100 in either Bob Moates' stores or Old Dominion Guns and Tackle will be entered into a draw, first prize a free handgun or rifle worth $900.

The promotion has been devised as an act of defiance against Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, who is suing two Virginian gun shops, including Bob Moates, as well as 25 stores in other states, for allegedly selling guns too freely and thus fuelling violent crime. In a sting operation last year, Mr. Bloomberg sent undercover investigators into Bob Moates and other stores to expose how regulations on sales were openly being flouted.

Despite Monday's tragic events, a clerk at Bob Moates said the draw would go ahead. It will underline the unbending adherence of many Virginians to the right to bear arms — the state has been ranked the second easiest in the country in which to buy guns — in the face of renewed calls for tighter gun control.

Cho Seung-Hui carried a 9mm Glock pistol and a .22 Walther semi-automatic. One of those was used in both crime scenes on the campus. Receipts in his backpack suggested he had bought them legally earlier this month. But the terrible death toll at Virginia Tech has inevitably revived the debate on America's relatively relaxed approach to gun ownership.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

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