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May 25, 2022 01:23 PM UTC

Yet Another Colorado GOP Fundraiser Giving Away an AR-15 Rifle

  • 18 Comments
  • by: Erik Maulbetsch

(Ill timing to say the least — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

The Teller GOP-branded AR-15 includes a 30-round magazine (with 15-round reducer) that also features a Republican logo.

By Brittney Becerra, Colorado Times Recorder.

To encourage citizens to attend its June 11 “Big Tent” candidate debate, Teller Country Republican Party will be once again giving away a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle to the winner of its “Awesome Silent Auction.”

The southern Colorado Republican group is not only publicizing the chance to win an assault rifle, but also the “Mouthwatering BBQ Food, and Complimentary Beer and Wine Bar” that will be offered at the event.

The event is meant for Republican voters who live in Teller County to meet the candidates running for office and will raise money for the party. All announced candidates have been invited, but as of right now the confirmed candidates are:

7th Congressional District: Erik Aadland, Laurel Imer, Timothy Reichert

Secretary of State: Pam Anderson, Mike O’Donnell, Tina Peters

U.S. Senate: Ron Hanks

Attorney General Candidate: John Kellner

State Board of Education At-Large: Dan Maloit

60th House District: Stephanie Luck

4th Senate District: Mark Baisley

Current 2nd Senate District:, running for Senate District 11 Dennis Hisey

Currently none of the GOP candidates for Governor are scheduled to appear. Neither CU Regent Heidi Ganahl, who spoke at last year’s event, prior to officially declaring her candidacy, nor Greg Lopez, the topline gubernatorial hopeful, have confirmed.

Tickets are available online for $40 and anyone under the age of 16 will be allowed in for free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

The featured rifle is a Palmetto State Armory PA-15 with a 16″ barrel, the minimum length legally allowed without the weapon being considered a short barrel rifle subject to additional federal regulation, including registration.

Asked if there had been any discussion of canceling the rifle giveaway in light of yesterday’s massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that took the lives of at least 21 people, including 19 children, Teller GOP chair Ross Parnow stated that the rifle “wasn’t used in the Texas shooting.”

Parnow also confirmed that the thirty-round magazine decorated with the Teller GOP logo that comes with the rifle includes a capacity reducer to make the magazine comply with Colorado’s 15-round limit. Parnow says that the transaction is handled by a federal firearms licensed dealer, which requires the winner pass a background check, and he noted that Teller Republicans have conducted similar fundraising raffles for many years. The Colorado Times Recorder covered the party’s 2018 raffle which also featured an AR-15.

The Teller Republicans aren’t the only local GOP group that uses military-style semi-automatic weapons as a prize to raise money. In May 2018, the El Paso County Republican Party gave away two semi-automatic AR-15 rifles at their Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser.

On May 24, 2022, President Joe Biden called for action against the gun violence. “I am sick and tired of it,” he said during a press conference. “We have to act. And don’t tell me we can’t have an impact on this carnage, why do we keep letting this happen?”

Biden also asked, “Where in God’s name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies?”  

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser yesterday also issued a statement on the shooting.

“Once again, we are in shock and disbelief with the news of another mass shooting, this time at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. My heart goes out to the families grieving the unimaginable loss of a young child,” said Weiser. “We must find a path forward to curtail the scourge of gun violence, identify threats, and put protections in place to save lives. Just today, I was speaking with students and faculty at Golden High School who are promoting connections between peers and caring adults and building a safer community because they care for each other. We all can learn something from these kids. Schools should be a place of learning, growth, and support, not horrific gun violence. Enough is enough.”

Reporter Erik Maulbetsch contributed to this article.

Comments

18 thoughts on “Yet Another Colorado GOP Fundraiser Giving Away an AR-15 Rifle

  1.  Teller GOP chair Ross Parnow stated that the rifle “wasn’t used in the Texas shooting.”

    That's a big relief. At least they aren't selling evidence from an ongoing investigation as a door prize.

    Their great orange-haired guru is still planning to speak at the NRA's big convention this weekend in Texas notwithstanding the events of yesterday. 

    Replace the firearm with a less lethal door prize? No, good taste was so twentieth century.

  2.   The talking point that the rifle “Wasn’t used in the Texas shooting” is nicely distracting, if completely insensitive. Somebody smarter must have helped Parnow with that one. Negev, any thoughts?

    I mean, these were mostly Latine and Mexican-American children and teachers, after all, so who in the Teller CountyGOP actually gives a flying f*ck about their lives? 

     

    1. I'm surprised you give a flying f*ck about it, mama. After all, the shooter was not a white supremist and the last few rounds of shooters that were people of color did not even make the open thread..

      …so the cycle continues; gun sales surge, gun manufacturers stocks jump, and 20 plus years have past since Columbine and we are still talking about banning guns…. while I think we can agree that the gun lobby is a powerful, money hungry conglomerate, it would seem the anti-gun movement has become a cottage industry in and of itself, where a solution is much less profitable than the problem. 

      1. Nice diversion, Negev.

        1. Accusation: Polsters and I, in particular, don’t care about murdered victims if killer isn’t white. No evidence, just a random straw man..to see if people will react.

        1. Fact: These events are profitable for the gun industry

        2.Supposition: The shooter wasn’t a white supremacist ( actually, I don’t think we know anything about the murderer’s motivations yet)

        3. The anti-gun movement is the real profit-monger Inference: if the “anti-gun cottage industry” wasn’t profitable, these mass murders wouldn’t occur. Deft projection!

        Very original.

        Do you get paid to generate these talking points? Or is it sort of a hobby?

        1. The evidence is there is no mention of the POC shooters – exactly what I said – did I miss a post? The accusation here is that you suggest the Teller County GOP does not care about murdered victims because of their color – with absolutely no evidence for that. 

          I believe I stated these events are profitable for the gun industry, however it is generally the case that its the actions of the anti gun opposition that is profitable, not the actual event. (see history)

          The shooter was not a white supremist because he was not white. This is not a Dave Chapelle skit mama jeesh…if the shooter was white we would be talking about hate crimes and not guns. 

          I am not saying these mass murders would not occur if the anti gun industry wasn't profitable, I'm saying that if you really wanted a solution you would have had it, and that solving the gun issue is not as profitable as fighting the gun issue, really, on both sides of the argument… you cannot fail to learn from your mistakes over this amount of time on accident. 

          1. Which incidents and dates ( of mass murders) are you referring to? If you were disturbed that there were no posts on Pols for those incidents, why didn’t you post something? Other than your standard,”Yay! I guess gun sales will go up again!”

            White supremacists can be non-white. See: Rep Dave Williams, Enrique Tarrio, the “Blacks for Trump” guy, “ any number of Jan 6 insurrectionists who were people of color, the “Diamond and Silk” youtubers. Self hatred, or simply grubbing for white $$, has always been a thing. 

            But as I said, we don’t yet know the motivations of this particular Uvalde killer. 
            Your last point, that somehow this is my fault personally, or “our” fault as people who want to regulate and limit unfettered access to firearms, is ludicrous projection on your part. But throw it at the wall, see if it sticks. 

            Meanwhile, I’ll keep pushing for those things you and your gun lobby hate: Insure guns like cars, require permit / clean criminal and mental health record / training prior to purchase, firearm privileges can be lost with accidents / misuse, red flag laws, smart locks required in homes with children, waiting periods, no military guns for civilians.

            1. Please don't think for a moment I am saying "Yay" to gun sales going up. I admit it is getting to sound like a broken record I just thought after 10 years of evidence proving you are helping the gun industry in your methods would resonate with you somehow… but I know you are doing your best. Maybe next time State Farm will cover the funeral costs. 

  3. I like Phil Weiser a lot, but anyone who's actually "in shock and disbelief" over those murders simply isn't paying attention, and hasn't been paying attention for a long, long time.

  4. June 11 is more than 2 weeks away. 

    Given the number of school shootings (Education Week tracker of K-12 shootings has 34 – the highest ever — in 2021, 27 in 21 weeks of 2022), it is entirely possible that a weapon other than an AR-15 from Daniel Defense (or any sort of AR-15) will be the most recent gun involved.

     

  5. Negev, who shows up like a troll in a fairytale whenever firearm safety is mentioned, barely seems to even believe his own bullshit anymore. He’s a zombie, a robot. You’d get further talking to a potted plant. Which is all he is, a plant for the gun industry, whether he even realizes it or not.

    1. He’s an unofficial spokesman for the firearm  industry and once made his living training people to carry guns. Nowadays, he has a different gig. 
       

      But Negev isn’t a troll. It behooves us all to learn the other side’s arguments, convoluted and fallacious though they may be. Not all gunheads are as stupid as those profiled by the NSPA. 

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