LOCAL

Despite critics, Leslie gun raffle for youth wrestling club sells out quickly

Ken Palmer
Lansing State Journal

LESLIE – Chad Risner was looking to raise money for his youth wrestling club, enough so that parents wouldn't have to pay for their child to participate.

He settled on a "Gun Giveaway," with the prizes being 28 firearms and two other prizes, one to be raffled off on each day in September.

"This is just a way to get ahead and make the parents happy," said Risner, head coach of the Leslie Youth Wrestling Club, which is not affiliated with the Leslie School District. "Times are tough right now. We're trying to make it so they don't have to pay for anything all year."

The idea appears to have worked. The club sold all 1,000 of its raffle tickets in just six days, $20,000 worth, and Risner was still getting calls this week from people who wanted to buy in. 

Although reactions on social media were mixed, some people blasted the gun giveaway as insensitive or inappropriate during a time when mass shootings have become commonplace and restricting access to firearms is a fiercely contested political issue.

"That's so strange," Alissa Beaty Giler posted to the wrestling club's Facebook page. "I was JUST thinking we really don't involve guns in kids extracurricular activities enough."

An image of a ticket in the gun raffle sold by the Leslie Youth Wrestling Club.

"In my unsolicited opinion I'm with the residents who think its at least SUPER insensitive & yeah.. this is inappropriate for school-aged children, organizations and school districts," Derek Ward said in a message posted to the State Journal's Facebook page.

Risner said he took the criticism in stride, adding, "You could give flowers away, and people would complain about it."

But he acknowledged he didn't expect all of the negative reaction he saw.

Risner noted that nothing is technically being given away. Tickets are $20 each, minors aren't eligible to participate in the raffle, and anyone who wins a gun will have to comply with all firearms regulations in order to claim it, including the standard federal background check, he added.

"We have nothing to do with the school," he said. "I don't think these people understand there are background checks. There are no guns being seen by kids, nothing like that. Not that that would be illegal, but the kids don't even know what going on."

The raffle is sponsored by the wrestling club and American Legion Post 491 in Leslie. Winners will be determined by the Michigan Lottery's evening 3-digit drawing. The prizes include a mix of shotguns, rifles and handguns, with one $400 gun voucher and a $300 ammunition voucher.

Risner said winners will have the option to get clothing or other merchandise based on the value of the gun. All prizes must be claimed at Litchfield Outdoors in Litchfield.

This is the first time the wrestling club has tried a gun raffle, Risner said. He's seen the idea being used in other areas, including Calhoun and Hillsdale counties, and tickets seem to sell out in short order, he said.

The Leslie community has been supportive, he said.

"We've sold to school teachers, we've sold to people you really would not think would be buying," he said.

The wrestling club last year had about 50 participants ranging from eighth-graders on down, Risner said. Cost is an issue for many families, and the raffle is a way to cover club fees, he said.

"We caught a kid last year sneaking chicken home in a bag because he didn't have a lot to eat," he said. "We sure want to make it comfortable for him while he's here."

The gun giveaway probably won't be the last for the wrestling club, Risner said.

"We might talk with the Legion; we might have another one," he said. "There are lots of people who still want tickets. I just had a call from a guy who wanted to buy six more tickets."

Contact Ken Palmer atkpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.