Gun raffle causes stir at Hobgood Academy
Kathryn Bridges / Daily Herald / October 18, 1999
HOBGOOD - There's no need to get up in arms.
Raffling hunting rifles and guns is just one of the things that civic and other non-profit organizations do in Hobgood, according to Hobgood Academy Headmaster John B. Hardison.
The fire department and civic organizations in the area have raffled the popular weapons in the past, and Hobgood Academy has too, he said.
The Future Farmers of America Club at Hobgood Academy is sponsoring a gun raffle this month. The money raised by the event will be used to help buy machinery and equipment for the agricultural program at the school, said Hardison. Tickets are $10 apiece, with chances for five guns ‹ three shotguns, a 22 gauge shotguns and another hunting rifle (bought from a reputable dealer, according to school officials).
The Hobgood Academy FFA Advisory Board, made up mostly of parents, voted to raffle the weapons because during hunting season, guns are the most marketable item. In past school raffles, hunting guns have been the most popular item bringing in the most money.
At least one parent in the area, though, does not like the ramifications of children raffling guns, no matter how popular the idea is.
"My relative is in school at Hobgood, and her mother told me about it," Sonya Alexander said. "As a parent myself, I was just in shock. I just couldn't believe it ‹ children raffling guns?
"I may be the only one who has spoken up against it, but I just found out about it. My issue is that it is wrong for children at a school to be selling weapons, and I feel it would have been more appropriate to find something else to raffle off."
Alexander said she contacted Headmaster Hardison and offered to purchase other items for the raffle, equivalent to the value of the guns, but he refused her offer.
Instead, measures will be taken to ensure that weapons will not fall into the wrong hands, he said.
"Everything that needs to be done to make sure that these guns will be in safe hands. If anybody buys their son or daughter a winning ticket, the weapon will be given to the parent," Hardison said. "Besides that, the winners will have to go through the same process they would have to go through if they were buying a gun ‹ registration, licensing and background check."
Students at Hobgood Academy are educated by their family about the safe use of firearms for hunting and recreation, Hardison added.
Still, the raffle raised eyebrows among advocates for school safety and gun control.
"This is certainly coming from left field," said Joanne McDaniel, assistant director of the Center for the Prevention of School Violence in Raleigh. "We've not heard of anything like this before."
The center supports laws limiting access to guns for the young and mandating responsible gun ownership and use.
"If this is being done responsibility, I guess it's a community decision that reflects those values in that community," McDaniel said. "The message in question is a different issue."
The academy's sponsorship of a gun raffle in light of deadly school shootings in Colorado and elsewhere is inappropriate, said Lisa Price, executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence.
"We're not saying that adults and supervised juveniles should not have access to guns, but promoting guns at school seems like the wrong issue," she said.
Since Hobgood Academy is a private school, it mandatorily complies only with Public School Law in the state of North Carolina in regard to fire, safety, sanitation and immunization. Legally, the school can raffle the guns.
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Mykl
~~~~~
"If you really want to know what's going on;
then, you have to follow the money trail."
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Kathryn Bridges / Daily Herald / October 18, 1999
HOBGOOD - There's no need to get up in arms.
Raffling hunting rifles and guns is just one of the things that civic and other non-profit organizations do in Hobgood, according to Hobgood Academy Headmaster John B. Hardison.
The fire department and civic organizations in the area have raffled the popular weapons in the past, and Hobgood Academy has too, he said.
The Future Farmers of America Club at Hobgood Academy is sponsoring a gun raffle this month. The money raised by the event will be used to help buy machinery and equipment for the agricultural program at the school, said Hardison. Tickets are $10 apiece, with chances for five guns ‹ three shotguns, a 22 gauge shotguns and another hunting rifle (bought from a reputable dealer, according to school officials).
The Hobgood Academy FFA Advisory Board, made up mostly of parents, voted to raffle the weapons because during hunting season, guns are the most marketable item. In past school raffles, hunting guns have been the most popular item bringing in the most money.
At least one parent in the area, though, does not like the ramifications of children raffling guns, no matter how popular the idea is.
"My relative is in school at Hobgood, and her mother told me about it," Sonya Alexander said. "As a parent myself, I was just in shock. I just couldn't believe it ‹ children raffling guns?
"I may be the only one who has spoken up against it, but I just found out about it. My issue is that it is wrong for children at a school to be selling weapons, and I feel it would have been more appropriate to find something else to raffle off."
Alexander said she contacted Headmaster Hardison and offered to purchase other items for the raffle, equivalent to the value of the guns, but he refused her offer.
Instead, measures will be taken to ensure that weapons will not fall into the wrong hands, he said.
"Everything that needs to be done to make sure that these guns will be in safe hands. If anybody buys their son or daughter a winning ticket, the weapon will be given to the parent," Hardison said. "Besides that, the winners will have to go through the same process they would have to go through if they were buying a gun ‹ registration, licensing and background check."
Students at Hobgood Academy are educated by their family about the safe use of firearms for hunting and recreation, Hardison added.
Still, the raffle raised eyebrows among advocates for school safety and gun control.
"This is certainly coming from left field," said Joanne McDaniel, assistant director of the Center for the Prevention of School Violence in Raleigh. "We've not heard of anything like this before."
The center supports laws limiting access to guns for the young and mandating responsible gun ownership and use.
"If this is being done responsibility, I guess it's a community decision that reflects those values in that community," McDaniel said. "The message in question is a different issue."
The academy's sponsorship of a gun raffle in light of deadly school shootings in Colorado and elsewhere is inappropriate, said Lisa Price, executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence.
"We're not saying that adults and supervised juveniles should not have access to guns, but promoting guns at school seems like the wrong issue," she said.
Since Hobgood Academy is a private school, it mandatorily complies only with Public School Law in the state of North Carolina in regard to fire, safety, sanitation and immunization. Legally, the school can raffle the guns.
------------------
Mykl
~~~~~
"If you really want to know what's going on;
then, you have to follow the money trail."
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
