Republican gun raffle raises cash for some, angers others

Republican supporters raffled a gun as a political fundraiser

February 27, 2000
Web posted at: 2:25 a.m. EST (0725 GMT)

In this story: Other Republican groups interested Concern over potential loss of voters RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Correspondent Kathleen Koch

WESTMINSTER, Maryland (CNN) -- A handgun raffle that raised more than $16,000 for the Republican Party in a rural Maryland county also raised eyebrows among gun-control advocates.

The raffle of a 9 mm Beretta pistol was organized in conservative Carroll County -- but sparked interest across the state and the nation.

MESSAGE BOARD Guns under fire

Ticket orders poured in and helped tally a total that reached around six times the organizers' original target.

"The reaction has been amazing ... Literally amazing. I have never seen so many people so united," raffle organizer Scott Hollenbeck said.

And Maryland is not the only state to experiment with such high-powered political fund-raisers. Illinois congressional candidate Michael Curtiss raised tens of thousands of dollars by raffling rifles.

"As long as I dispense them in a lawful manner, what's done with them after they leave my control -- I have no responsibility for it," Curtiss said.

But some party leaders are concerned that gun raffles could alienate potential voters.

"It lends itself to questions about whether or not the Republican Party is unconcerned about those in the community who have been victims of firearms. And nothing could be farther from the truth," said Michael Steele of the Maryland Republican Party.

A protester outside the Carroll County raffle drawing said she believes the message sent by raffles of handguns is a insult to the victims of gun-related crime.

"They obviously have never seen the damage a (handgun) can do to a child's body. I held my son without the back of his head or the teeth that he was born with and these people want to raffle it off. I think it's terrible," Carol Price said.

The winner of the raffle was a retired county worker in her mid-60s who was not at the drawing. Friends said she probably would give the gun to a relative.

Carroll County Republicans are considering another raffle -- this time offering a rifle as the prize. They already have received calls from party officials from as far away as Kentucky who want tips on how to organize their own raffles.

Clinton's gun proposals draw fire and fans at gun show
January 18, 2000
Recent shootings renew gun control debate
September 17, 1999

Maryland Republican Party
Handgun Control, Inc.
Carroll County Online: News Front Page
Carroll County, Maryland - Government
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