The East Henderson Youth Foootball and Cheerleading League expected to raise maybe $3,000 in their raffle for a FN-15 patrol rifle. Thanks to the controversy and your help they raised 10 times that amount!
They announced the winner today on Facebook in a live drawing. They added two gift cards to Cabelas since they did so well with the raffle.
(Video starts out sideways but is quickly corrected)
Congratulations to Kim Jordan on winning the FN-15 and a big thanks to all who helped including Grass Roots North Carolina.
A youth football and cheerleading league has a raffle for a FN-15 patrol rifle to raise money for kids and the usual suspects have a hissy fit. Just down the road from me in East Flat Rock, North Carolina, the East Henderson Youth Football and Cheerleading League is holding just such a raffle. It goes to support equipment and fees for kids ages 5 to 12 who cannot afford it.
The winner must be 21 years old and pass a FBI NICS check as you might well expect.
In response to anonymous criticism, the league released this on their Facebook page according to WLOS.
In response to complaints made both publicly and “anonymously” regarding our raffle:
1) We’re currently taking applications for an official Fund Raiser. If you have a sure way to raise enough money quickly to get us through the rest of the season and still have enough to start up next season, we need you to use that energy in a positive way.
2) We’re ALWAYS accepting donations. This organization doesn’t run on air and water. We’re not “affiliated” with Henderson County Public Schools nor are we sponsored by Henderson County in ANY way. The referees aren’t volunteers, the LEO and first responders for the children’s safety aren’t volunteers, the use of the field, stadium, and facilities are not free, the lost uniforms, mouthpieces, chin straps, ear pads, bows, and socks are not free, equipment is not free, the insurance is not free, and all the other fees the league must pay are not imaginary.
3) If we’re not raising enough money, we’re forced to raise fees.
“We aren’t offering an assault rifle. We are offering an FN 15 Patrol Carbine,” a spokesperson for EHYFCL told Fox News Digital. “This is an ArmaLite 15-style rifle, not fully automatic, which by definition excludes it from being classified as an assault rifle. We are following all ATF guidelines. The item is being held at an FFL, the recipient must complete an ATF form 4473 and pass an NICS background check before taking possession of it.”
I love how they have called out the naysayers. I plan to buy tickets and I would urge my readers to do so as well.
I posted an article from Politico on Facebook yesterday. The article said the NRA was facing member backlash from their endorsement of Donald Trump on Friday. I noted that I thought Politico was stretching to find NRA members who were opposed to the Trump endorsement. I compared it to finding people at the Annual Meeting who were in favor of universal background checks. You would find them if you looked hard. I went on to add that Politico was a part of the mainstream press whose job it seems is to get Hillary elected even if she does treat them like something she found on the bottom of her shoes.
I thought what I said was fairly uncontroversial.
I was wrong.
I have lost track of how many comments and replies pro and con the Trump endorsement that I have received. Some of the comments have up to 50 replies to them. Much of it is back and forth between people who oppose the endorsement and those who thought the NRA right to do the endorsement. To get a true feel for it you need to read the comment and then the back and forth replies.
The comments on both sides of the argument have come from people within the gun culture whom I respect for their devotion to the Second Amendment. Given that, I do see that the endorsement of Trump was more controversial than I thought.
My take on why the NRA-ILA and NRA-PVF made the endorsement now is that it was pragmatic politics. The NRA is nothing if not a practitioner of realpolik. The pragmatic consideration is that an early endorsement at a time when it would get lots of media attention cements the NRA as one of the inner circle of organizations who will have the ear of a President Trump. It is already a given that the NRA will have no seat at the table under a President Clinton. She has already declared us as one of her prime enemies.
The NRA could have waited to make the endorsement later in the campaign season but they would have risked that endorsement getting lost among other endorsements. Moreover, as some have suggested, they could have just foregone an endorsement of Trump as they have done with some past Republican nominees. Given Trump’s past pro-gun control comments, they could have been excused for going this route. That said, 2016 Trump is very pro-gun, has made very pro-gun statements throughout the campaign, and has very pro-2A positions posted on his website. It could be posited that the NRA endorsement is a reward for coming over the from the dark side.
As I said above, I do see the endorsement of Trump as being more controversial than I thought. However, pragmatically, I don’t see that the NRA had any other choice than to do what they did.
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