Kids on grade school cheerleading team asked to sell assault rifle raffle tickets

[Initech]

An elementary school cheerleading league is facing criticism after asking students to sell raffle tickets for a semi-automatic rifle.

Heather Chilton said her 7-year-old daughter was asked to sell tickets for an AM-15 optic ready rifle to raise money for the New Richmond Junior Lions Football and Cheer program in Ohio, according to CNN affiliate WXIX.

"This is absurd, you're having elementary kids sell your AR-15. Why?" Chilton told WXIX. "I highly doubt that something would happen with the gun, but say it did. Say one of the kids in the high school got a hold of it — got the AR-15 or AM-15 and shot up a school with it, and I'm the one that sold the raffle ticket to his dad?"

The New Richmond Junior Lions Football and Cheer program is an independent, nonprofit organization for cheerleaders and football players ages 5 to 12. About 150 students participate in the program, according to the league's president, Robert Wooten.

The raffle has been a popular fundraiser

According to WXIX, Chilton received an email in July indicating that all members of the cheer team were required to sell five AM-15 raffle tickets and five gift basket raffle tickets for $10 each. Otherwise, they would be subject to an opt-out fee of $100 per child.
Chilton told the station that she raised her concerns to Wooten.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/22/us/elementary-cheer-squad-gun-raffle-trnd/index.html

[Sanity Claws]

1. How close is New Richmond to Dayton?

That is some great way of telling kids that we are concerned about their safety.

[CincyDem]

3. Out east of Cincinnati along the river in Clermont County - they put the red in Red District. n/t

[Initech]

4. I had to look it up, it's less than a 2 hr drive from Dayton.

Really what official in their right mind would think this is a good idea? They should be fired for this.

[sarisataka]

8. Borrowed from the evil overlord list:

One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation.

[912gdm]

9. about an hour and a half by interstate

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Dayton,+Ohio/New+Richmond,+OH/

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Wha.....Why? nt

[Hekate]

5. By all that's holy...

[gratuitous]

6. Whoa, well at least they didn't raffle off an Xbox or PlayStation

You know what kind of violence video games engender.

[Initech]

11. Damn that Call Of Duty!!!

[Ohiogal]

7. Talk about tone deaf!

[Wounded Bear]

10. I'm sure this was planned before Dayton, but the question remains, why?

And who in the hell thought this was ever a good idea?

[Initech]

12. "The raffle has been a popular fundraiser"

That's extremely poor reasoning if you ask me, especially since they live, I don't know, 1.5 hours from the site of a mass shooting!

[zackymilly]

13. What's in the gift baskets? Ammo, gun oil and targets? n/t

[Initech]

14. Hopefully some life insurance policies thrown in for good measure.

[oswaldactedalone]

15. Teh stupid boggles the mind

These morans need to buy a clue.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

16. What's every bit as disturbing as what the raffle tickets are for,

is that the kids are being required to sell $100/worth of tickets (between the rifle and a gift basket) or pay an opt-out fee. Isn't that extortion? How is that legal?

[Initech]

17. I'd send them a check with a middle finger drawn on it.

Because this is an absolutely terrible idea no matter what way you look at it. And yes I would consider that extortion.