  By carrying out character expansion and integration over all link variables,
the partition function of 3-dimensional pure SU(2) lattice gauge theory is
rewritten in terms of 6j symbols. The result is Ponzano-Regge model of
3-dimensional gravity with a term that explicitly breaks general coordinate
invariance. Conversely, we show that dual of Ponzano-Regge model is an SU(2)
lattice gauge theory where all plaquette variables are constrained to the
identity matrix and therefore the model needs no further regularization. Our
techniques are applicable to other models with non-abelian symmetries in any
dimension and provide duality transform for the partition function.
