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CORTEZ, Colo. (AP) — A man who held a community drawing for a rifle to benefit the Mancos High School football team last month is facing criticism from people who say he might be violating raffle and gun registration laws, and others who question whether it's appropriate to hold a gun giveaway given the incidents of violence in schools across the country.
Vance Koppenhafer of Kopp Ranch in Mancos, said he held the drawing for the past four or five years because his children played football for the team and he is a Mancos High graduate. This year's drawing was held during the team's last home game.
"I went to school there. I have cousins that went to school there. We support the athletic program," Koppenhafer said. He said Mancos is home to a lot of hunters and said the prize is appropriate.
A school spokesman said Koppenhafer raffles the firearm as a private citizen and donates proceeds to the football team. He said the school does not take part in the raffle.
"We wouldn't do that as a school because A, we don't have a raffle license and B, I'm not sure that would be appropriate," said Mancos School District Re-6 Superintendent Brian Hanson.
Koppenhafer and school officials said students are ineligible to claim the prize. Drawing entrants must be 21 or older and pass a background check conducted by Shooters World in Cortez in compliance with Colorado law, officials said.
In Colorado, only registered nonprofit organizations that have been in existence for at least five years are eligible to apply for a raffle license, the Cortez Journal reported (http://tinyurl.com/qgnbml2).
State officials said a raffle requires payment to get into a random drawing to get something. Koppenhafer said a $5 donation is suggested, but some local businesses have chosen to donate and don't want a raffle ticket.
Koppenhafer said the drawing raised more than $1,500 in one year for the school's athletic department, while in other years, the amounts have varied.
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Information from: Cortez Journal, http://www.cortezjournal.com/
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