Gaughran Wants to Ban Gun Raffles

State Sen. Jim Gaughran will introduce legislation this week to ban gun raffles.

The legislation would prohibit firearms from being given as prizes in games of chance. This is the second  year that Nassau County Friends of the NRA is hosting its annual fundraiser, which includes raffles of firearms and parts for weapons, including attachments for the AR-15 semiautomatic weapon. The AR-15 was used in the Parkland, Sandy Hook, Las Vegas concert, Pittsburgh synagogue, and Texas church massacres. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Assembly.

Gaughran said, “You shouldn’t be able to simply walk into a catering venue and walk out owning a firearm. This law will protect public safety and advance New York’s commitment to common sense gun reform. You can’t raffle off a bottle of wine, so why can you raffle off a weapon of war?”

Linda Beigel Schulman, gun reform advocate, said “The NRA in conjunction with the Inn at New Hyde Park, will be inexplicably raffling off guns at their NRA fundraiser. This fundraiser is being held by an organization that opposes ALL reasonable gun safety legislation on both a state and federal level.  The NRA uses their massive profits, including those from this local event being held in Nassau County, to block common sense and life-saving gun safety measures. New York continues to take the lead when it comes to gun safety. This approach continued in February 2019 with the passage of gun safety legislation. This legislation puts safety and people’s lives over money and profits.  “We the People” not only desire to be safe from senseless and preventable gun violence, we demand it.”

Rachel Klein, founder of Long Islanders 4 Gun Safety, said “Guns are not toys. When 100 Americans are dying each day due to gun violence, it’s infuriating that firearms are being raffled off in games of chance. Especially when the money raised is being used to further the NRA’s dangerous and deadly agenda of preventing any sort of reasonable gun legislation from being passed in this country. As a mother, I am furious that raffle tickets are being sold to finance an organization that has recently been declared a domestic terrorist organization.”

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