Chicago's mayor has called on a US bank to withdraw a letter of credit (L/C) facility extended to one of the country's largest gunmakers.

Rahm Emanuel is a staunch backer of President Barack Obama's campaign to curb gun use in the US, which was prompted by the killing of 26 people at a Connecticut school last year.

L/C call

Emanuel has written to Bank of America asking it to cancel a US$25-million L/C for the fourth largest firearms manufacturer in the US.

Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. is one of two-dozen US gunmakers manufacturing variants of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, the civilian version of the US military's M16 assault rifle.

Obama's campaign

Emanuel, who was White House chief of staff during most of Obama's first term, has also now written to the US subsidiary of Canada's TD Bank asking it to withdraw financing for Smith and Wesson because it does not back the president's gun reforms.

Obama launched a vigorous gun-control push following the Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, which killed 26 people, including 20 school children last December.

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