Illinois little league raffling off AR-15 rifle to raise money for equipment

A cash-poor Illinois little league is raffling off an AR-15 rifle to help buy new equipment for its twelve teams.  Tickets for the June 29 drawing cost $20 and —despite the winner receiving the same type of gun that was used in both the Aurora theater and Sandy Hook massacres — the fundraiser has already raised thousands of dollars more than last year's drive — and more than a few eyebrows.

The Atwood-Hammond little league raffle for the semi-automatic weapon, sponsored by a local sporting goods store and the Atwood Armory, has sparked interest in buying a ticket from as far away as Washington state, said organizers.

"It has been going gangbusters," Atwood Armory co-owner Charidy Butcher said. "My phone has been ringing nonstop since 4:30 this morning. It's just been crazy."

Butcher says the high-powered rifle wasn't chosen to make a political statement and sees no relation between the fundraiser and recent incidents that have thrust gun control back into the national debate.

NFL greats star in new PSA against gun violence

A group of retired NFL stars have joined forces with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns program and put together a new public service announcement calling for Congress to tighten and reform gun control laws.

Marshall Faulk, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson appear in the simple black and while spot that comes on the heels of both the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and the shocking murder/suicide by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher last December.

"How many more?" Sanders begins the 30-second Demand A Plan to End Gun Violence ad. "How many street corners?"