A youth softball program in Oregon has decided to move forward with plans to raffle off an AR-15-style assault weapon as part of a fundraiser, despite divided opinions in the community.
The Lady Dragons fast-pitch program has been criticized for the decision to keep the firearm as part of the raffle after the same type of weapon was used to massacre 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida on February 14.
The youth softball organization provided a statement to the Statesman Journal on Monday saying they sympathized with current events, but that the fundraiser ‘is a legal, well-regulated raffle, with tickets being sold to willing and able purchasers’.
Community members have voiced their upset with the decision, with former Dallas High School teacher Rebecca Penna saying ‘the impression it gives is distasteful’.
The Lady Dragons fast-pitch youth softball program in Dallas, Oregon will move forward with a raffle that has been underway since January 30 and includes an AR-15 rifle, despite division
Michelle Johnstone, superintendent of the Dallas School District, stressed that the program was not affiliated with the school district in any way.
Despite the division in the community, the Lady Dragons stand by their decision to continue to sell tickets for the raffle of the firearm, which was provided by a private donor.
‘Raffling a high-ticket item, yes, even a firearm, has been done by similar sports organizations with great success,’ the program’s statement read.
Dallas City Council President Micky Garus, who sits on the board of the Lady Dragons youth program, said many tickets had been purchased for the raffle.
Jim Moore, director of the Tom McCall Center for Policy Innovation at Pacific University in Forest, said continuing with the raffle could reflect negatively on the program.
He made mention that the board members making these decisions weren’t the ones on the field, wearing the uniforms.
‘They are in the political sphere right now by doing this,’ Moore said.
‘The post-Florida landscape … changes the political calculus.’
Additionally, there was also some push-back against the rifle raffle within the community, prior to Nikolas Cruz, 19, admitting to shooting and killing 17 people and injuring 15 others with an AR-15 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day, according to Garus.
The division follows the highly publicized high school shooting in Florida on February 14, where an AR-15 was used to kill 17 people and injure 15 others
Garus said, in a Facebook post on February 3, that he had been kicked off of the social media website for 24 hours after posting details about the raffle.
‘It’s really sad,’ he wrote in the post.
‘We are trying to do something good for our community by providing funding opportunities for youth sports, and it resulted in a few people dictating to the majority what they deemed inappropriate.’
Jody Lewis, who currently lives in Eugene but grew up in Dallas, said, ‘It’s been incredibly polarizing.’
The organization reiterated on Monday that all legally required precautions would be taken to ensure the rifle went to a permissible gun owner.
‘The winner of the raffle will have to pass all necessary background checks, the same as would be required of them to purchase the rifle,’ the statement to the Statesman read.
The Facebook page for the program, where details could be found about the raffle which began selling tickets on January 30, appears to have been disabled.
The Lady Dragons fast-pitch softball program of Dallas, Oregon, is hosting the fundraiser for equipment, field improvements and to help ensure registration fees remain low for families.
The program has teams for girls ages 10-and-under through 16-and-under.
The raffle is scheduled to take place on April 4.
Nikolas Cruz, 19, faced court briefly on February 15 as he was officially charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder over the high school shooting massacre in Parkland, Florida
PICTURED: Fourteen students, geography teacher, coach and athletic director shot dead in Florida high school massacre
Jaime Guttenberg, 14, (left) was described by relatives as a ‘kind-hearted, sweet’ girl. She attended the school with her younger brother who survived and rushed home afterwards. Senior Nicholas Dworet (right) was a gifted swimmer who had his sights set on 2020 Tokyo Olympics success. His devastated college student girlfriend is among those grieving his death. Friends said he was not just a talented athlete, but a ‘good guy’ who will be missed
Martin Duque, 14, (left) was missing for hours on Wednesday and his frantic family desperately appealed for him to get in touch on social media. On Thursday, his older brother Miguel confirmed his death. Martin was a freshman. Meadow Pollack, 18, (right) was preparing for college. Her father was at the school on Wednesday and showed her photograph around in the hope that she would be found alive
Cara Loughran (left) was missing on Wednesday afternoon. Her mother Denise and her father rushed to the designated hotel where parents were told to go to be reunited with their children in the hope that she would be found alive. Her grieving neighbor confirmed her death on Thursday. Alyssa Alhadeff, 15, (right) was eulogized by her mother who said she was a talented soccer player and creative mind. ‘All she had to offer the world was love… I just sent her to school and she was shot and killed,’ she said
Luke Hoyer, 15, (left) was described as a ‘precious’ child by his grandparents who confirmed his death. They found out about the shooting on television. They said he was a ‘good kid’ who ‘never got in trouble’. Joaquin Oliver, 17, (right) was also killed. Joaquin was a Venezuelan immigrant who came to the US with his family for a ‘better future’, they said on Thursday
Gina Montalto, 15, (left) was described as a ‘light and joy’. She and Jaime, another victim, volunteered at a local project called The Friendship Initiative where they acted as buddies for children with special needs. Gina’s mother Jennifer shared pleas to find her on social media on Wednesday. Alaina Petty, 14, (right) was also killed. Her Mormon church confirmed her death, saying she was a ‘valiant’ member
Carmen Schentrup, 16, (left) was also killed in the shooting. Carmen was a gifted student who last year was named as a semifinalist in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. It includes students who score above average in their SATs or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. ROTC student Peter Wang, 15, (right) also died. His parents speak little English and relied on their neighbor to post social media appeals looking for him. They went to the Marriott hotel with other parents to wait for news of him on Wednesday night and have since confirmed that he was among those killed
Alex Schachter, 14, (left) was also killed. His mother died when he was a child and he attended the school in Florida with his brother, who survived. The teenager’s father Max said he was a ‘sweetheart of a child’ who ‘just wanted to do well and please his parents’. Helena Ramsey, 17, (right) was described by relatives as a ‘reserved’ and studious girl who was due to go to college next year
Geography Scott Beigel, 35, (left) was shot dead as he tried to lock the door of his classroom again after letting a group of fleeing students in to hide. They were running away from the gunman. Aaron Feis, 37, (right) died acting as a human shield. The track coach had thrown himself on top of the kids to stop the bullets from hitting him. He was a former student and was also a security guard at the school where he had worked for eight years
Athletic director Chris Hixon, 49, was also killed shielding students