Reading, writing and rifles

[question everything]

Monday, June 6, 2005

Reading, writing and rifles

By: Gail Chatfield - Commentary

(snip)

A school in Texas took a different approach to raising money. The PTA at the Hanna Springs Intermediate School in Lampasa, Texas, was discouraged by the paltry sums raised by previous fund-raisers. Last year, they raffled off firearms. Reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, and rifles?

In fairness, Lampasa (pop. 6,786) is in rural Texas, where residents hunt deer and own guns. Droves of hunters visit the town on weekends, so it was "a business decision," to quote one of the mothers who thought of the idea over breakfast. The mothers felt the guns were a sales tool and the hunters were, pardon the pun, the target audience.

The tickets were $1 each, and the original 10,000 sold out so quickly that another 2,000 were ordered. The proceeds were to pay for a new chain link fence for the middle school where a stranger recently approached a student as she jogged around the grounds during PE. Surprisingly, there are several registered sex offenders living in the area oblivious of the per capita rifle count.

First prize in the raffle was a Kimber rifle, a Leupold scope and two boxes of ammunition for a value of $1,000.ÝState Rep. Suzanna Hupp, whose district includes the school, purchased the rifle at cost using money from her campaign fund, which is legal under Texas law.

(snip)

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/06/opinion/commentary/6505194755.txt

Gail Chatfield lives in Carmel Valley.

[gordianot]

1. I know rural schools who have been doing this for years.

They would not even blink.

[tx_dem41]

2. The only part of this story I find disturbing is this part.....

"State Rep. Suzanna Hupp, whose district includes the school, purchased the rifle at cost using money from her campaign fund, which is legal under Texas law."

WTF?

[question everything]

3. Probably falls under: "donations to charities." nt