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Dogged by Snoop snub, PM takes lead
lol.US rapper Snoop Dogg may have been banned from Australia for more than just his long criminal record, Prime Minister John Howard has suggested.
Snoop was due to perform at the MTV Australia Music Video Awards in Sydney on Sunday, but has been denied a visa on character grounds.
The ban follows the hip-hop artist and actor's conviction in the US earlier this month on gun and drugs charges - the latest in a series of offences on an extensive rap sheet.
Snoop's lawyer says his client poses no threat and he denied Australian government claims the rapper is still involved in Los Angeles' often violent gang scene.
But Mr Howard said Snoop, whose real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr, had been barred from entering Australia for "sound reasons" - some of which were not on the public record.
"Well, I have to be careful what I say in these matters but he has been ... well there are certain judgments that are made on certain advice that I can't go into, but the reasons for banning him are sound," Mr Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
Mr Howard compared the case to the previous banning of Holocaust denier David Irving.
"Why should somebody like this, who's got a particular background, be allowed into the country?" he said.
"There's always been a character issue in relation to people being given visas. I mean that was the issue that was, in part, behind the refusal to give a visa to David Irving, the Holocaust denier."
Snoop has also been bared from the United Kingdom following a fracas at Heathrow Airport last year.
"Well, I think the judgments have got to be made about the, how shall I put it, the accumulated behaviour of people who seek to come to this country," Mr Howard said.
Donald Etra, who represented Snoop Dogg in the gun and drugs case in Los Angeles this month, said of the ban: "It's really too bad".
"Snoop loves Australia and Australia loves Snoop."
Mr Etra said Snoop would be well-behaved if allowed to enter Australia.
Asked if there was any danger of him committing any crimes while in Australia, Mr Etra responded: "Absolutely not".
The 35-year-old rapper was warned when he visited Australia in February that any further indiscretions would make it difficult for him to perform in the country.
Then, on April 11, Snoop pleaded no contest to charges of gun possession by a felon and sale or transportation of marijuana.
He was sentenced to five years' probation and 800 hours of community service.
The charges came after he was arrested at Los Angeles' Bob Hope Airport last October on suspicion of transporting marijuana. Police later found a gun at his home.
Mr Etra said the sentence handed down to his client demonstrated the lightweight nature of the case.
"The judge gave him probation which truly says a lot about the severity of that case."
Mr Etra also denied Snoop was affiliated with notorious LA gang, the Crips.
"The reality is Snoop has no gang affiliation," the lawyer said.
Snoop can appeal the Australian government decision, but Mr Etra said he was unsure if his client would do that.
"I do not know what his plans are going to be."