Tucson Republican Leader Slams County GOP For Giffords Gun Raffle! Just saw this on CNN [View All]

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http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/tucson-republican-leader-slams-county-gop-for-giffords-gun-raffle.php

Eyebrows shot up all over the country Thursday following news that that the Republican Party in Pima County, AZ -- home to Tucson and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D) district -- is raffling off a Glock similar to the one used to shoot Giffords in the head in January. In Tucson, the condemnation of the plan was universal and bi-partisan.

"There's a woman who has a bullet in the brain and who everybody is wishing a full recovery," Brian Miller, the immediate past chair of the Pima County GOP told TPM. "I don't think that raffling off a firearm right now is probably the right way to go."
Democrats said the move went far beyond "silly."

"It shows a stunning lack of understanding," Pima County Democratic Party chair Jeff Rogers told TPM. "It's kind of a slap in the face for a community that's still trying to recover." Rogers said his party generally auctions off dinners with politicians, "pottery or nice dinners" to raise money. He suggested that following the Giffords shooting, the Pima County GOP may have been better off going with "golf clubs...or maybe an iPad." If the GOP had to raffle a gun, Rogers said, "why not make it a shotgun or a hunting rifle?"

Rogers praised Miller's leadership of the GOP following the Giffords shooting and joined the former chair in condemning the new leadership of the county party responsible for the raffle. "It's just so extremely insensitive," he said, "and it shows the kind of extremists we have in our midst."