The Telegraph
The annual Super Bowl weekend has been caught up in a row over US gun rights after organisers refused to screen an advertisement for the AR-15 assault rifle during the half-time show. The AR-15 has become synonymous with America’s heated gun debate following the Sandy Hook primary school shootings when 20 children and six teachers were shot with a version of the weapon. The decision not to screen the advert has caused fury among the powerful American gun lobby and a Georgia-based company, Daniel Defense, which is one of several in America to manufacture the AR-15 which is the civilian variant of the military M4 carbine. The Super Bowl is arguably the biggest sporting weekend in America, with companies striving to make the best advertisements to be screened during the match, with half-time slots costing up to $8m (£4.8m) a minute.
