No this is not from The Onion:
A Republican state legislator in Missouri is holding a campaign fundraiser where he will raffle off one of the same types of weapons used in the Aurora movie theater shooting.
Rep. John McCaherty (R-High Ridge) planned the fundraiser prior to last week’s shooting that left 12 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie dead. Fenton-High Ridge Patch reports that the rifle was donated to McCaherty by the National Rifle Association, of which he is a longtime member. McCaherty’s campaign fundraiser, Ray Brockman, said that the prize is “unusual” and confirmed the raffle was part of the Aug. 27 fundraising dinner, which also will feature live music. Raffle tickets are $25.
McCaherty has tried to hide from the connection between his raffle and the Aurora shooting, according to FiredUpMissouri.com, which published an email McCaherty sent to supporters on Wednesday saying that the auction would continue. He said he would not answer media questions and would not become “a scapegoat” on the rifle issue. He encouraged supporters to continue to sell raffle tickets by “word of mouth.”
At this point, nothing would surprise me. And I suspect many independent voters have the same (disgusted) reaction that I do. Let’s see…it’s donated by the NRA…it’s one of the same weapons used in the Aurora movie theater shooting. So it’s just impossible, utterly beyond the realm of possibility, simply can’t be done, that he pull this gun?
I guess not — which says a lot about Mr. McCaherty…not about the new or old media that may look at this prize with raised eyebrows and (rightfully) wonder about his taste and sensitivity.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.