Pima County Repubs Raffle Glock As Fundraiser; Same Gun Type Used In Tucson Shooting
Posted: 8/31/11 07:06 AM ET
Alex Brant-Zawadzki

Journalist, Politico, Scallywag



Talk about a killer gimmick.

An Arizona Republican fundraiser is offering as a prize the same type of gun used in the attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

On August 26 the Pima County Republican Party sent out its regular online newsletter, e-Tracks [PDF]. It contained your standard newsletterisms - an intro from the chairman, a description of local candidates, a calendar of upcoming events, and so on. But this particular issue also featured an eye-catching giveaway to raise money for GOTV (Get Out the Vote) efforts.

For just $10, readers can purchase a raffle ticket (out of 125 offered) for a chance to win a brand new handgun. Not just any handgun, but a Glock 23

Arizona Republicans surely know just how effective this particular brand of gun can be. After all, it was only eight months ago that Jared Lee Loughner used a Glock 19 in Tucson - the seat of Pima County - to shoot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head. Giffords survived, but six other people, including a nine year old girl and a federal judge, were killed in the same shooting.

The raffle gun comes preloaded with adjustable grips, a case, and three 12-round magazines. Glock USA describes the model as "a slightly reduced size of a full-size handgun for easier concealment but still retains the performance on the level of a serious big bore."

Let's see... with 125 tickets, at $10 a ticket, the PCRP could pull in a cool $1,250 - minus whatever their souls are worth, of course.

The office of the Pima County Republican Party has confirmed that they are raffling the Glock.

Congresswoman Giffords' office had no comment, according to Interim District Office Coordinator Rodd McLeod.

The Arizona GOP has said it won't campaign to have Giffords removed from office before the 2012 election.

But at some point they're going to have to run somebody. So how do you field a candidate against a beloved incumbent who also happens to be a national hero?

"Many of us know Gabby and we're all praying for her continued recovery," PCRP vice chairman Mike Shaw told FoxNews.com. "The whole thing was horrible and that adds a lot of sensitivity to the seat."

Speaking of sensitivity - you have no idea how sensitive the trigger is on this sweet baby we're raffling! All the easier to fire those 36 bullets you'll get in those three magazines. Loughner only got off 32 shots. Think you can do better? Then give us your money.

Special thanks to Dawn Teo for the tip on this news item. This story was written as part of the Huffington Post's Off the Bus coverage of the 2012 election season by citizen journalists. If you would like to contribute to this project, sign up at offthebus.org

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-brantzawadzki/az-republicans-celebrate-_b_943014.html

Sickos...and we wonder why they are destroying this country...

Not the same gun type.

The Glock 23 uses the 40 caliber round devloped by the FBI following the Miami Shootout of 1986 in which two special agents were killed and four others wounded despite outnumbering the suspects four to one.

The Glock 19, on the other hand uses the standard NATO round, the 9x19mm parabellum. The Glock 19 has become popular amoung pilots in the United States Air Force. They almost never jam.

Both are used extensively by police forces in the United States and abroad. And yes, both are the same brand, Glock. I wouldn't say they are the same "gun type", however. It doesn't make sense that the newsletter writer would compare one to the other.

It's a Huffington Post editorial. I thought surely other legitimate papers would have picked up the story, but not so, or not yet. Odd.

Gun raffles are common. I have seen three hundred guns being raffled off around here within the past month. There are actually a lot more, I have just been approached by two, one hundred and fifty gun raffle sales.

The news item isn't really news and has nothing to do with the congresswoman being shot.

It is a shame that no one is even a bit reverent of this terrible crime though, for real.

You know when the Colummbine shooting happened here in Colorado the producers of the movie the Matrix postponed their movie opening out of respect for the kids here. Why? Because in the movie the stars appeared in leather trenches with machine guns and that is what happened here.

Now if a movie can show some respect you would think that gun makers or law makers could too.

It is just a shame.