July 15, 2011
An Ozarks car dealership has started a controversial promotion.
Anyone who buys a car gets a free gun.
The promotion just started at Premier Auto Outlet in Rogersville, Missouri.
If you purchase a car, you get a $250 voucher towards a gun.
Owner Wayne Lewis says his customers embellish the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms so why not celebrate that right?
"We've had phones ringing off the hook, we've already given away two or three guns," Lewis says.
Charles Soeder didn't hear the radio ad, but says a free gun with his new pickup is a nice incentive.
"We do a lot of road hunting down in our county so we need something big to shoot them off the road with, " Soeder says.
A few people KSPR News talked with agree that the ad will drive in more customers and they would be interested in looking at their vehicles.
But not everyone thinks that way.
A few people didn't think it was a good idea.
Lewis says it will bring in more customers because people like to get things for free.
"Guns are no different than anything else whether you're giving away a TV or a bicycle," he says.
And even if people are offended, he says in his business that's a risk you have to take.
"I don't think it will backfire, the first few days are usually a good sign of success," he says.
The voucher you get after you buy a car can be used at a local pawn shop in Rogersville.
If you don't want the gun, Lewis says you can exchange the gun voucher for a gas card.
Buyers still have to pass a national background check before they can get the gun.
In 2008 a car dealership in Butler, Missouri had a similar promotion, offering a free semi-automatic handgun with the purchase of a new car.
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