By AWR Hawkins
Washington DC – -(Ammoland.com)- The United Way of Otero County New Mexico was told to halt its raffle of firearms after a board member of another United Way chapter filed a complaint to United Way Worldwide headquarters, but the organization has now reversed course.
United Way Worldwide responded by sending a letter to the Otero County chapter threatening “to revoke their United Way affiliation if the chapter did not terminate the raffle and remove any mention of it from their webpage.”
The complainant also reached out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and “encouraged” it to investigate the raffle. The ATF found nothing illegal.
The NRA-ILA reported that complainant Miranda Viscoli just “happens to be the co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence,” in addition to her role on the board of the United Way of Sante Fe.
On August 21 2016, the Associated Press reported the raffle is resuming, and the firearms to be raffled “include shotguns, handguns, and an AR-15 rifle.”
Raffle winners will undergo background checks before taking possession of the firearms, just as they would if purchasing the guns in a store.
