TOPEKA — The Kansas Republican Party plans to conduct a potential $100,000 fundraiser by raffling a firearm on 30 consecutive days in April.
Rob Fillion, executive director of the Kansas GOP, said tickets for the daily prize drawing would be sold at $50 a pop. The objective would be to generate money for the party’s campaign activities and to rally support for the constitutional right of individuals to possess firearms for self-defense, he said.
“April is going to be explosive for Kansas Republicans. We’re giving away 30 top-quality firearms — one every single day — to celebrate our unyielding defense of the Second Amendment,” Fillion said.
Precedent exists for Kansas Republican candidates or organizations to sponsor drawings of firearms, especially AR-15-style rifles, to raise voter interest and rally against gun-control proposals. In 2018, GOP congressional candidate Tyler Tannahill launched a raffle for an AR-15 one day before that type of weapon was used in a massacre that killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
This year, the Kansas State Troopers Association has conducted weekly drawings on “Win a Weapon Wednesday” with tickets acquired by purchasing a $100 calendar. Ducks Unlimited Kansas organized a 50-gun raffle in February. The Knights of Columbus in Wichita has sponsored a “Gun-A-Week” raffle this year to raise money for charity by selling $60 tickets.
Fillion said the idea of the April fundraiser was to generate interest in electing “conservative leaders who will protect constitutional rights and advance Kansas values.”
“This isn’t just about winning guns,” he said. “It’s about winning elections, mobilizing our base and sending a clear message that Kansas stands firmly for freedom, self-defense and the right to keep and bear arms.”
The Kansas GOP’s raffle kicks off by giving away a Great Lakes 223 AR-15. The roster also included a Springfield Hellcat Pro 9 mm, Beretta 92XI 9 mm, Cobra III .410 shotgun, Raptor Camo CT-3, Kimber Custom LW 9 mm, Setter CT-5 shotgun, Browning Buck Mark Medallion 22LR, Henry Silver American Eagle 22, Kimber K6s .357 and Canix SFX Rival-S 9 mm.
All tickets sold for the Kansas GOP raffle would be eligible for all daily drawings conducted online at kansas.gop from April 1 to April 30. A maximum of 2,000 tickets would be available and participants could buy multiple tickets, Fillion said.
Ticket purchasers and those claiming prizes must be 21 years of age and legally eligible to possess a firearm. Party officials planned to post results online and to notify winners by telephone. Individuals would have 30 days to claim a firearm. The formal transfer of guns must occur through a dealer with a federal firearms license.
This story was first published by Kansas Reflector.
