It is perfectly natural for any good parent to want to support their child’s endeavors, and this certainly extends to school athletics. For one New York state gun shop owner, the door to help his daughter’s volleyball team was slammed shut in his face.
Joe Oliver is the proprietor of JJ Armory in Riverhead. He recently announced the raffle of a Ruger firearm to be held later this month, with the proceeds going to the Riverhead High School volleyball team that his daughter is a member of.
Only, system leaders quickly shot his philanthropy down in flames.
Officials decided that the volleyball team should not benefit from the raffle
The school district issued a blistering statement denouncing any fundraising effort related to the Second Amendment.
“Under no circumstances would the district ever sanction any event to raise funds for a district sports team or program that involves the offering of firearms or any weapon as a prize,” the statement declared. “…The district has reached out ot the business owner to strongly convey our position on the matter and to ensure our teams are not used for such marketing purposes by the company in the future.”
The missive concluded by announcing that no funds raised for the team through the gun shop will be accepted.
Someone was unhappy that athletes would benefit from the gun shop’s efforts
Understand, the raffled firearm could only be delivered after a successful federal background check as required by law. This did not satisfy the board, which wanted no part of the fundraiser.
Speaking of fundraisers, one of the team’s supporters, Lynn Oliver, started a GoFundMe effort for the team. She explained that the money would help cover travel expenses, uniforms, and equipment.
Oliver further noted that some community members “have a personal vendetta against not only guns but the business. This was supposed to be a happy gesture and now has been completely and utterly dismantled with one phone call to the New York State Gaming Association.”
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