MIDLOTHIAN, Va. (AP) -- Amid the Confederate flags, anti-Yankee bumper stickers and Civil War relics on display at Bob Moates Sport Shop, a counterattack against the North is under way.Zowie.''Ask about the Bloomberg Gun GiveAway'' reads a sign taped to the gun shop's register, beckoning customers to enter the drawing named for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose federal lawsuits against gun dealers in five states have drawn the wrath of Virginia's gun enthusiasts.
Bloomberg says the dealers holding the contest are sick. The dealers call Bloomberg names that aren't fit to print.
''The truth is, if Bloomberg hadn't picked on Virginia, we wouldn't have gotten involved. But he made the mistake of stepping into Virginia with this,'' said Philip Van Cleave, president of the pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League and mastermind of the giveaway, which has boosted business for the two participating store owners....
The contest has only further agitated Bloomberg, who has made gun control a top priority in his second term.
''These are sick people,'' Bloomberg said in January at the Mayors Against Illegal Guns summit in Washington. ''And if they think that this is funny, I don't think that the parents or the spouses or the children of those that get killed with illegal guns would find that very entertaining.''
Dave Hancock, who has worked at Bob Moates Sport Shop for 25 years, said of the mayor: ''I think he's an idiot.''
--Garance Franke-Ruta
