Congressman Stockman raffling AR-15

HOUSTON - by Doug Miller/KHOU 11 News and www.khou.com

A congressman from the Houston area has launched an unusual political publicity stunt, staging a sweepstakes to give away an assault-style rifle.

U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman’s campaign is now accepting entries through its website for an AR-15 Bushmaster, an especially popular weapon among many gun enthusiasts.

The reaction from his staunchly conservative district ranges from bemusement to enthusiasm to disgust, but it seems generally positive.

“I think it’s awesome!” said Wes Dale, a Tea Party supporter who was chowing down on lunch at King’s Barbecue and Steak in LaPorte. “Lock and load!”

Sitting a few tables away, Maria Koegel didn’t find it at all funny.

“I think it’s terrible,” Koegel said. “Those high-powered guns, they don’t belong in people’s hands. I think it’s great for the military, and I believe everybody should be able to have a gun, but I think there should be a limit.”

Stockman’s campaign website invites people to register for a chance to “Win the gun Obama wants to ban,” an AR-15 Bushmaster. It’s a straight-up sweepstakes, requiring no donation or purchase. Whoever wins the weapon will have to claim it through a licensed firearms dealer, but only after going through dealer’s background check.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Stockman’s campaign started selling some provocative bumper stickers saying, “If babies had guns, they wouldn’t be aborted.” His website invites buyers to “Get the stickers liberals hate!”

Stockman’s stances courting gun-rights voters have attracted attention for decades now, ever since he won his first congressional seat during the 1994 Republican revolution led by Newt Gingrich.

Shortly into his first term, he wrote an article for Guns & Ammo saying President Clinton encouraged the Branch Davidian compound raid to build a political case for banning assault weapons.

More recently, he briefly discussed impeaching President Barack Obama if the White House decided to implement new gun regulations through executive action.

Stockman, who invited Ted Nugent as his guest to the State of the Union address, represents a heavily Republican congressional district stretching all the way from LaPorte and Clear Lake in the Houston area to Jasper in East Texas. Even for Texas, where gun ownership is generally considered a sacred birthright, it’s an especially strong area of support for the Second Amendment. So the promotion plays especially well with his base of voters.

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Was Assault Weapons/Rifle NOT Used at Sandy Hook School Shooting? Connecticut State Police Clarify

the following article is from Bob Price posted on TexasGOPvote:

The debate over gun control in our country has spawned many rumors in relation to the weapons used at Sandy Hook Elementary. Many blogs and other forums are reporting that the weapon removed from the shooter's vehicle was the AR-15 and this was not used in the shooting. On Friday, January 18th, the Connecticut State Police issued a press release (see text below) about this issue and confirmed the Bushmaster was found inside the school.

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I contacted the CT State Police for further clarification. Lt. Paul Vance told me the Bushmaster was, in fact, fired inside the school and used to kill all 26 people who died that day.
I asked Vance about the magazine capacity of the handguns that were found inside the school. He said he did not have that information, but confirmed that the shooter had numerous magazines with him inside the school.
It was very clear in speaking with him that they are frustrated with the rumors about this case and the manipulation of the tragedy for political purposes by both sides of the gun control debate. There was obvious pain in his voice reflecting of the exposure to the carnage of the crime scene experienced by all who responded to the scene of this crime and those who continue to investigate the details.
Many of the rumors began after NBC aired a video showing a weapon being removed from the shooter's vehicle after the shooting. It was mistakenly identified as the AR-15. When you watch the video closely, the weapon is very hard to distinguish. There is a brief glimpse of a pistol grip which may have led to the speculation of it being the Bushmaster.

Saiga -12 Semi-Automatic Shotgun

Bushmaster XM15-E2S

However, if you continue to look closely at the barrel, you will see it does not look like an AR-15 style rifle. It is a longer barrel much like a shotgun or hunting rifle. Vance confirmed with me it was a tactical shotgun. Their press release identifies it as a "Canta-12", but this is also not correct. It is actually a Saiga-12, manufactured by the Russian company Izhmash.  "Canta" comes from the Russian spelling "САЙГА".
Sandy Hook was a painful tragedy by any measure. For the left to use this as a tool to prosecute a political agenda long held by the Obama Administration is wrong. For the right to spread rumors that cause pain for those involved directly is also wrong.
For better or worse, we will now be engaged in a debate about what to change in relation to preventing firearm violence. Whether the shooter used an AR-15 or handguns or a baseball bat is irrelevant. The issue is the killer, not the weapon. Let's try to move forward with facts and compassion for the victims of these horrible crimes. Let's find the real reason why people suddenly turn violent and look for ways to kill themselves and others. And let's treat criminals as criminals and not take away rights of Americans who have not committed any crimes.
Following is the text of the State Police press release:

** UPDATE **

  

STATE POLICE IDENTIFY WEAPONS USED IN SANDY HOOK INVESTIGATION;

INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

   In previous press conferences, the Connecticut State Police clearly identified all of the weapons seized from the crime scene at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

   To eliminate any confusion or misinformation, we will again describe and identify the weapons seized at the school crime scene.

  

Seized inside the school:

#1. Bushmaster .223 caliber-- model XM15-E2S rifle with high capacity 30 round clips

  

#2. Glock 10 mm handgun

  

#3. Sig-Sauer P226   9mm handgun

  

Seized from suspect’s car in parking lot:

#4. Izhmash Canta-12   12 gauge Shotgun    (seized from car in parking lot)

  

This case remains under investigation.