Gun shop to raffle off AR-15 to benefit Orlando shooting victims

A suburban Chicago gun shop is conducting a raffle to benefit victims of the Orlando, Fla., shooting massacre – and the prize is an AR-15 rifle.

The semi-automatic weapon that Second Amendment Sports in McHenry plans to give away is similar to the gun used in the Orlando attack that killed 49 people and wounded dozens more in a gay night club on June 12.

A McHenry County woman who lost her son in another mass shooting where an AR-15 was used – the 2012 movie theater massacre in Colorado – called the shop’s raffle “offensive.”

But gun shop owners say their intent was not to offend or to make a political statement but to help the Orlando victims by raffling off one of the shop’s most popular products.

“We wanted to do something for the loss of lives and injuries that happened to people in Orlando,” said Bert Irslinger Jr., who owns the shop with his father, Bert Sr.

“I understand that there are different opinions out there,” said store marketing director Vic Santi. “We don’t look at this as a gun issue. We look at this as a terrorism issue.”

Kathleen Larimer said she considers the raffle inappropriate publicity ploy.

Her son John Larimer, a 27-year-old U.S. Navy sailor from Crystal Lake, was among the 12 people shot to death at an Aurora, Colo., theater.

“Guns are not toys,” she said. “They should be taken seriously. I’m not saying they should be illegal, but raffling off a gun is not taking its killing power seriously.”

Colleen Daley, executive director, of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence in Chicago, also called the raffle offensive.

“I’m glad people are trying to raise money,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s the most appropriate way to do that. These guns are weapons of war, meant to kill large numbers of people in a short time, which is what happened in Orlando. I find it very distasteful and offensive.”

Second Amendment Sports has been open for six years and recently added a gun range and larger showroom. Operators plans to announced the winner of the raffle – tickets cost $5 – at an opening celebration on July 31.

Whoever wins the raffle must fill out a federal form and have or get a firearm owner’s identification card, which can take a month or more, and wait 24 hours before receiving the rifle, Irslinger Jr. said.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Gun shop to raffle off AR-15 to benefit Orlando shooting victims."