IT was with a sense of disbelief that I read Fred Shawcross's article regarding gun crime in which he considered the contributions of both firearm availability and hip-hop culture as possible sources of the problem, yet concluded by apportioning the blame squarely with the musicians!

Yes, rap groups such as the So Solid Crew pen lyrics dealing with violence and crime, but then Tom Jones had a massive hit with a song about murdering his wife (Delilah) and we don't hear complaints about that.

Just as soul music and the blues were products of oppression in America, so rap music is a result of growing up under the shadow of violence. To claim the music predisposes the crime is a prime example of putting the cart before the horse.

In fact, the genre highlights a major source of the problem in America, the violence inherent in the fabric of its society. The "every man for himself" attitude which for 200 years has gone hand-in-hand with the pursuit of the American dream continues to manifest itself in black and white in the US constitution in the form of the right to bear arms and lax gun laws.

Politically and ideologically, organisations such as the National Rifle Association have a chokehold on American society, resulting in an escalating "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality. Events such as the Columbine massacre can no longer be viewed as freak tragedies like Dunblane, but a serious social problem.

I hardly think the streets of Bolton would be safer if members of the Irwell Valley Pistol Club and others were allowed to wield firearms in defence. The NRA claims that Britain's gun laws constitute "a restriction of personal freedoms". If the price of their "freedom" is more than 10,000 deaths due to gun violence each year compared to the 30 in Britain, then I'm happy with our status quo, thanks. Any rise in gun crime must be fought through reform in our courts and the strengthening of our police force, not through some dangerous display of vigilantism in our streets and homes. Adopting our own version of the second amendment would only encourage the spread of gun culture throughout our society. I for one applaud recent Government efforts to tackle the heart of the problem by toughening gun laws. If, like Mr Shawcross, you believe that a five-year jail sentence for possession of a handgun is not a deterrent, then surely you should be asking yourself why we bother maintaining a legal system at all.

Andy Mullen

Horwich