Buy a truck, get a free Kalashnikov: Florida recession antidote

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - Just in time for the holidays, a Florida car dealer is offering a free Kalashnikov automatic rifle to new truck buyers.

The month-long promotion was kicked off in honour of this week’s US Veterans’ Day by Nations Trucks in Florida’s Seminole County, the Orlando-based TV Channel 13 reported Friday.

Sales manager Nick Ginetta, keen on boosting sales, said he chose the AK-47 rifle to provoke controversy, get attention and make a statetment about the US constitutional right to own guns.

“You dont need to buy a truck to go and buy an AK-47,” he was quoted as saying. “You have the right to do that as long as you meet all state and federal laws. So its just a promotion, and I dont think it sends the wrong message.”

There is a catch.

The gun doesn’t come loaded into the passenger seat. Instead, truck buyers get a $400 certificate good for a Kalashnikov or any other gun at a local gun store.

Channel 13 viewers were divided down the middle about the wisdom of offering weapons to spark sales: 51 percent said yes, 49 percent said no.

Under Florida law, no permit is needed to purchase firearms, as long as you are not a convicted felon, but one needs a license to carry a concealed gun.

Ginetta was open to negotiations on the price of the truck if the buyer does not want a gun, the report said.