OK Gents. Here in Maryland a Republican County Committee has started a raffle for a 9mm Beretta and the Book More Guns Less Crime by John Lott. The Committee has come under heavy fire from the the anti's. There have been several articles on this in the local papers denouncing the raffle.
I talked to the Chairman and he tells me that the State Delegates from that District and the State Senator have no intention of backing down and are more resoplved than ever to have the raffle go on. The tickets are $5 each. I am going to support this as much as possible and will buy several tickets.
Also, I spoke to Kevin Miller of the local paper who is reporting on this and he was extremely interested to know that there where people from all over the nation interested in this raffle. I am hoping to generate some positive news on this. Anything you guys can do to help would be great.
Also I was told that they would print more tickets if the demand was high enough.
Here is the address:
Carroll County Republican Central Committee
7409 Village Rd. #200
Sykesville, MD 21784
Checks can be made out to the Carroll County Republican Central Committee.
The Chairman of the raffle is Scott Hollenbeck. His phone number (although I am loath to put it on the web is 410-549-0747. Please don't call unless you really have to though as this number is his home number)
The Supporting article from the Baltimore SUN paper is below:
GOP officials up in arms about Carroll gun
raffle
Party's fund-raiser brings opposition
By John Murphy
Sun Staff
When its bull roast ended $300 in the red and enough cash wasn't
left over to start a direct-mail campaign, a Carroll County Republican
group decided to try a new fund-raising strategy that would show
support for gun owners: raffle a 9 mm pistol.
But the group's plan has drawn criticism from state GOP leaders,
who consider the gun raffle ill-timed and improper.
The Carroll County Republican Central Committee is selling $5
tickets for a chance to win a Beretta 9 mm pistol and a copy of
"More Guns, Less Crime," a book by University of Chicago
Professor John Lott, who argues that crime could be reduced if more
citizens carried guns.
"We are doing this to raise money. We are not doing this to get in
anyone's face," said Scott Hollenbeck, a central committee member
who organized the raffle. "We want to reach out to Second
Amendment people."
Gun rights advocates are increasingly under attack in Maryland,
Hollenbeck said. State Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. called
last month for stricter gun-control laws, including a ban on the private
ownership of handguns. And Gov. Parris N. Glendening said this
week that he plans to push legislation that would require trigger locks
on guns.
State GOP officials winced at news of the raffle, asking why a less
objectionable prize wasn't chosen.
"I think in the climate we are in today, this is not something that was
well-timed," said Ellen R. Sauerbrey, a member of the Republican
national committee.
Sauerbrey said other fund-raisers -- such as a speaker or a dinner --
would have raised money for the group.
Sen. Martin G. Madden, a Howard County Republican, agreed. "I
feel they could pick something that would appeal to a broader group
of people," he said. "It would not have been my choice."
Members of the Carroll delegation defended the raffle, noting that
raising money in their rural county is not the same as doing so in
Howard or Montgomery.
"They can have a wine-and-cheese party and charge $125 per
person. We can't do that in Carroll County," said Republican Del.
Joseph M. Getty.
Hollenbeck said his group plans to sell 500 tickets and draw a
winner at next month's central committee meeting or at the annual
county delegation breakfast next year, depending on when all the
tickets have been sold. The Beretta pistol, which sells for about
$600, was chosen because it is made in Maryland, he said.
Sauerbrey said other fund-raisers could be as successful.
"Well-run events work. Events where people are committed to
making them a success," she said. "I attended the bull roast. I'm sure
they were disappointed. It did not draw the crowds the central
committee has normally. It wasn't properly organized."
Officials in Glendening's office also spoke out against the raffle.
"That is completely inappropriate. [The governor] is working to try to
develop a mandate that would make all handguns child-proof and on
efforts to cut down on handgun violence. This is completely
inappropriate. It sends the wrong message," said Michelle Byrnie,
spokeswoman for the governor's office.
Del. Carmen Amedori, a Carroll Republican, said the criticism was
misguided.
"It's a good moneymaking fund-raiser. If we smoke, we're dirty. If
we own guns, we're dirty. I've had enough from these left-wing
zealots," she said.
This is not the first time a gun raffle has stirred controversy in
Maryland. In 1994, U.S. Senate candidate C. Ronald Franks drew
criticism for raffling an assault rifle -- a weapon that was banned from
sale nationwide weeks later -- to raise money for his campaign.
Franks, a dentist and former state delegate from the Eastern Shore,
sold more than 3,700 tickets at $5 apiece for the heavy-barreled
semiautomatic rifle. The raffle attracted ticket buyers from 18 states.
Join a C.A.N.
Thane
MD CAN OP
tbellomo@home.com
I talked to the Chairman and he tells me that the State Delegates from that District and the State Senator have no intention of backing down and are more resoplved than ever to have the raffle go on. The tickets are $5 each. I am going to support this as much as possible and will buy several tickets.
Also, I spoke to Kevin Miller of the local paper who is reporting on this and he was extremely interested to know that there where people from all over the nation interested in this raffle. I am hoping to generate some positive news on this. Anything you guys can do to help would be great.
Also I was told that they would print more tickets if the demand was high enough.
Here is the address:
Carroll County Republican Central Committee
7409 Village Rd. #200
Sykesville, MD 21784
Checks can be made out to the Carroll County Republican Central Committee.
The Chairman of the raffle is Scott Hollenbeck. His phone number (although I am loath to put it on the web is 410-549-0747. Please don't call unless you really have to though as this number is his home number)
The Supporting article from the Baltimore SUN paper is below:
GOP officials up in arms about Carroll gun
raffle
Party's fund-raiser brings opposition
By John Murphy
Sun Staff
When its bull roast ended $300 in the red and enough cash wasn't
left over to start a direct-mail campaign, a Carroll County Republican
group decided to try a new fund-raising strategy that would show
support for gun owners: raffle a 9 mm pistol.
But the group's plan has drawn criticism from state GOP leaders,
who consider the gun raffle ill-timed and improper.
The Carroll County Republican Central Committee is selling $5
tickets for a chance to win a Beretta 9 mm pistol and a copy of
"More Guns, Less Crime," a book by University of Chicago
Professor John Lott, who argues that crime could be reduced if more
citizens carried guns.
"We are doing this to raise money. We are not doing this to get in
anyone's face," said Scott Hollenbeck, a central committee member
who organized the raffle. "We want to reach out to Second
Amendment people."
Gun rights advocates are increasingly under attack in Maryland,
Hollenbeck said. State Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. called
last month for stricter gun-control laws, including a ban on the private
ownership of handguns. And Gov. Parris N. Glendening said this
week that he plans to push legislation that would require trigger locks
on guns.
State GOP officials winced at news of the raffle, asking why a less
objectionable prize wasn't chosen.
"I think in the climate we are in today, this is not something that was
well-timed," said Ellen R. Sauerbrey, a member of the Republican
national committee.
Sauerbrey said other fund-raisers -- such as a speaker or a dinner --
would have raised money for the group.
Sen. Martin G. Madden, a Howard County Republican, agreed. "I
feel they could pick something that would appeal to a broader group
of people," he said. "It would not have been my choice."
Members of the Carroll delegation defended the raffle, noting that
raising money in their rural county is not the same as doing so in
Howard or Montgomery.
"They can have a wine-and-cheese party and charge $125 per
person. We can't do that in Carroll County," said Republican Del.
Joseph M. Getty.
Hollenbeck said his group plans to sell 500 tickets and draw a
winner at next month's central committee meeting or at the annual
county delegation breakfast next year, depending on when all the
tickets have been sold. The Beretta pistol, which sells for about
$600, was chosen because it is made in Maryland, he said.
Sauerbrey said other fund-raisers could be as successful.
"Well-run events work. Events where people are committed to
making them a success," she said. "I attended the bull roast. I'm sure
they were disappointed. It did not draw the crowds the central
committee has normally. It wasn't properly organized."
Officials in Glendening's office also spoke out against the raffle.
"That is completely inappropriate. [The governor] is working to try to
develop a mandate that would make all handguns child-proof and on
efforts to cut down on handgun violence. This is completely
inappropriate. It sends the wrong message," said Michelle Byrnie,
spokeswoman for the governor's office.
Del. Carmen Amedori, a Carroll Republican, said the criticism was
misguided.
"It's a good moneymaking fund-raiser. If we smoke, we're dirty. If
we own guns, we're dirty. I've had enough from these left-wing
zealots," she said.
This is not the first time a gun raffle has stirred controversy in
Maryland. In 1994, U.S. Senate candidate C. Ronald Franks drew
criticism for raffling an assault rifle -- a weapon that was banned from
sale nationwide weeks later -- to raise money for his campaign.
Franks, a dentist and former state delegate from the Eastern Shore,
sold more than 3,700 tickets at $5 apiece for the heavy-barreled
semiautomatic rifle. The raffle attracted ticket buyers from 18 states.
Join a C.A.N.
Thane
MD CAN OP
tbellomo@home.com
