In the wake of a mass shooting, anti-gunners have a peculiar tick that keeps popping up. This tick manifests as their desire to politicize the tragedy almost immediately while simultaneously doing everything they can to block anyone else doing anything remotely pro-firearm. Yes, yes, I know, it’s just typical anti-gun hypocrisy, and I should be used to it, but there’s something more to it.

It’s not just them not wanting to give us a platform in the discussion, trying to use guilt for something we had nothing to do with to silence us. It’s the fact that they want a moratorium on anyone doing anything with a firearm.

Like giving one away in a raffle.

A Neosho youth baseball team, unaffiliated with the Neosho School District, has come under fire for a gun raffle designed to raise money for the team and their travels. The 9 and under baseball team was formed late last year by Coach Levi Patterson, who works for Midwest Storm Shelters.

The controversy arose because the raffle prize is a semi-automatic rifle, an AR-15 Spec 15 manufactured by Black Rain Ordnance in Neosho that retails, depending on the exact specifications, for approximately $1,000.

Although an AR-15 is often considered to be an assault rifle, the weapon is technically a semi-automatic rifle and the AR stands for Armalite Rifle and not assault rifle. It refers to the original company that first developed the rifle in the 1950′s as a semi-automatic version of the M16 rifles used by members of the military.

Although the raffle was underway prior to the Valentine’s Day school shooting at Marjory Stoneman High School where 17 died, a number of local residents opposed the raffle, partially because the prize weapon is the same as that used by student Nikolas Cruz in the shooting. Many also objected to the fact that the prize is a firearm as well as the fact that 7-9 year olds are selling the tickets. Others continued to offer their support for the fund-raising event.

In other words, people want a fundraiser for a softball team to shut down completely simply because someone in Florida went on a psychotic rampage that had nothing to do with the fundraiser or the softball team.

And it’s not just this raffle, but any raffle that was already underway.

Meanwhile, anti-gun groups are raising money left and right on the back of this tragedy like there’s no tomorrow.

The problem for the anti-gunners is that raffles of modern sporting rifles indicate that not everyone is listening to them and taking their hysterical claims seriously. Most of America knows these weapons are rarely used for illegal purposes. You’re more likely to be murdered with a hammer than a so-called assault rifle.

As a result, no one freaks over a raffle featuring an AR-15. Not in most places. It’s only the hysterical ninnies that live for trying to take away the rights of law-abiding citizens in the misguided thinking that they know what’s best for us who do that.