Suburban Chicago Republicans will continue with a scheduled fundraiser, raffling off nearly a dozen firearms Friday, just weeks after the Las Vegas massacre became the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The “2nd Amendment Dinner and Gun Raffle” in Kildeer, Illinois, will be hosted by the Lake County Republican Party beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
“Come out and help protect your second amendment rights and maybe even win a gun,” a Facebook event for the fundraiser states. “By supporting this event you are helping to support and elect candidates that realize your constitutional rights are not a gift from the government.”
Among the raffle prizes are:
- Three Henry 22 Tribute rifles
- One Ruger K10/22TD Takedown 22 LR
- One Smith & Wesson M&P 15SPTII 223
- One Ruger LC9S PRO 9mm
- One Mossberg Security Combo 12GA
- Other gun-related packages
Lake County GOP chairman, Mark Shaw, told the Chicago Tribune the event for local Republicans would continue as scheduled because it has long been planned.
“Unfortunately, obviously, the tragic events in Las Vegas happened and the fact that we had a dinner scheduled for the 13th of October, that's been something that's been in the works for over a year," he told the Tribune.
He added that a portion of the dinner proceeds will be donated to the Las Vegas Law Enforcement Assistance Fund, which assists families of officers killed in the line of duty.
The Illinois Elections Board confirmed it licensed the scheduled raffle.
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The Illinois Republican Party would only say it "supports the 2nd Amendment."
Gov. Bruce Rauner declined to comment on the event.
