Gun raffles, banned elsewhere, help keep local volunteer fire departments funded

VERONA — The Verona Volunteer Fire Department has to find ways to raise money if it wants the resources needed to operate close to its full potential. It does so through a variety of fundraisers.

Just this month it held an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner for $12. Last spring, firefighters lined Route 11 participating in a boot drive, asking motorists to donate money to the department. Last March it held a pancake breakfast and, at various times throughout the year there's the proven winner, barbecue chicken.

But twice a year, the Verona Volunteer Fire Department holds a gun raffle. This year, in February, the department raffled off a pair of AR-15 semi-automatic rifles. Then, in September, the department did a larger event, raffling off rifles, pistols and ammunition, among other items.

Andrew Goddard is the legislative director for the Virginia Center for Public Safety. He's all for selling spaghetti and pancakes and even putting money into boots to help the fire departments. Guns? Not so much.

“There are so many valuable things that you can raffle away to raise money without the side effect of potential death,” he said.

On its website, the Verona Volunteer Fire Department writes that part of its mission "is to minimize the loss of life and property resulting from fires, medical emergencies, environmental and other disasters."

That seems, at least to Goddard, a direct contrast to raffling off guns.

“For heaven’s sake, they’re trying to save lives," Goddard said. "Why are you trying to put a weapon of death into the hands of somebody who maybe doesn’t have one already?”

Verona isn't the only fire department in Virginia that does this. Stuarts Draft held a raffle in August that included a variety of items ranging from a chainsaw to a gift certificates to a 9mm pistol. In October, the Craigsville Volunteer Fire Department raffled off pistols, shotguns and rifles. And last November the Wilson Volunteer Fire Company in Lyndhurst also held a gun raffle.

A quick search of the internet showed gun raffles at fire departments in other parts of the state, including Grottoes, Luray, Madison, Sperryville and Timberville, in recent years. It's a safe bet those aren't all.

Fire departments in other states also host gun raffles. In May 2022, the Rocky Run VFD in Media, Pennsylvania cancelled its raffle which included AR-15 firearms after community outcry. Earlier this year, a police officer from St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana canceled a gun raffle he had organized to support victims of domestic violence.

And in 2018, shortly after the Parkland High School shooting, a fire department in Putnam County, New York that was raffling an AR-15 rifle and a .30-gauge shotgun came under pressure by the fire district's board of commissioners. After at first refusing to cancel the event, the fire department eventually compromised and raffled off gift certificates to a local gun shop. One of the commissioners called it not great, but better.

Randall Wolf, who lost an election for the 36th District House of Delegates seat this year, organized an anti-gun violence rally in Downtown Staunton during his campaign.

"Unfortunately, in Augusta County, guns and weapons are popular," said Wolf, who is a former journalist for The News Leader. "Sadly, maybe more popular than being able to win a dinner at a restaurant or win a small vacation getaway. Guns are more popular and sell more tickets."

Wolf said it's counterintuitive for a fire and rescue organization to be raffling off weapons. He realizes that the guns being raffled are primarily for hunting, and he's not anti-hunter. Still, he sees a problem.

"How would you feel if you went to someone's property that won the gun raffle and had to treat one of their loved ones who was shot and maybe killed?" Wolf said.

The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence released a report showing that the rate of suicide by firearms in Augusta County was 13.78 per 10,000 people, almost double the statewide rate and more than two times the national rate.

"We have a problem with gun violence throughout our area, our state and the nation," Wolf said. "It's an epidemic and (gun raffles) send the wrong message to the community about what's important."

The Virginia Department of Health monitors firearm injuries in Virginia. In 2017 the number of emergency department visits because of firearm injuries was 1,675. By 2022 the number was 2,760, nearly a 65% increase.

Other statistics from the Virginia Department of Health:

• On average, three Virginians died by firearm every day between 2016 and 2022.

• Most deaths by firearm from 2016 to 2022 were suicide (61%), followed by homicide (36%).

• In 2022, Virginians were hospitalized for nonfatal firearm injuries for a total of 7,021 days, with over $136 million in hospitalization costs.

• Males and people aged 15-24 years experienced the highest burden of firearm injury across ED visits, nonfatal hospitalizations, and deaths between 2016 and 2022.

The News Leader reached out twice to the Verona Volunteer Fire Department for comment on their gun raffles. We asked how long they had been doing this particular fundraiser, how much they raised from it and did they have any concerns about their guns ending up in the wrong hands.

"Verona Volunteer Fire Company, Inc does not make political decisions or political statements," the department responded by email. That's the only response they gave.

In his role, Goddard follows all gun-related bills in Virginia and he’s never seen anything regarding the restriction of gun raffles. Even if such legislation was to be considered, he said the gun lobby would never allow it.

That is probably accurate. The News Leader reached out to Virginia delegates Ellen Campbell and Chris Runion, Republicans who both represent parts of Augusta County. Neither seemed to mind that fire departments were raffling off guns.

"The Second Amendment is protected by our constitution, and I fully support it," Runion said. "These raffles are legal and are great for both the departments and the lucky winners."

Runion said he's participated in a number of raffles sponsored by fire departments and rescue squads. He said he'll continue to do so in support of those who "selflessly volunteer their time, talents and treasure to help our community.”

Campbell said it's unfortunate that volunteer fire departments have to hold fundraisers in the first place, telling The News Leader that those who volunteer their time to help others deserve the tools they need to operate.

But, if they have to do fundraisers, she saw no issue with a gun raffle as one way to raise money.

"I've won a gun myself in a raffle and I had to go through a complete background check to receive that legal firearm," she said. "The standard is no different for someone purchasing a firearm and the law is clear on that."

Campbell is correct. Raffle winners aren't just handed guns at the fire department and allowed to go merrily on their way. Greg Schacht is the Augusta County Fire and Rescue Chief. While he isn't involved directly with the gun raffles — they are done by individual volunteer fire departments — he explained that the same safety parameters are in place for raffles as for anyone walking off the street and wanting to buy a gun.

Verona purchases the guns it will raffle from a licensed gun shop, in this case The Gun Shack. The guns remain at the shop and are never in possession of the fire department. The owner of the winning ticket is notified they won, at which time they can take the ticket to the gun store.

"Then they have to go through all the processes just like if they'd purchased a gun," Schacht said. "They go through the background check, registration, the whole nine yards to get that gun."

That doesn't make Goddard feel any better.

“I don’t know why a fire department would want to partake in that,” he said. “Give somebody a set of steak knives or a blender or something like that. There are plenty of things to raffle off without putting people’s lives at risk.”

Wolf and Campbell do agree on one thing — fire departments shouldn't have to be holding fundraisers.

"The county should raise property taxes to be able to supply the needed equipment for those volunteer agencies," Wolf said. "It shouldn't come down to them needing to sell guns and raffles to be able to protect the citizens of Augusta County."

Goddard's advocacy for safer gun laws began shortly after his son was injured in the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in April 2007. Thirty-two people were killed in that shooting.

On Nov. 13, CNN posted results of researching gun-related events at schools. Its report showed 71 school shootings in the United States this year as of Nov. 9, including 47 on K-12 school grounds. CNN reported that at least 33 people were dead and 79 injured in those shootings.

Gloria Pan works with MomsRising, an education and advocacy group. She said her husband comes from a family of gun owners, but they always practiced safe gun ownership. A raffle not only detracts from the safety aspect, she said, but it almost makes it a carnival game — come win a gun. She worries it sends the wrong message to kids as gun violence in schools continues to increase.

Annually, nearly 4,000 children and teens (ages 0 to 19) are shot and killed, and 15,000 are shot and wounded—that’s an average of 53 American children and teens every day, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.

Wolf suggested we could help protect our kids from gun violence "by not encouraging people to buy guns to support our local fire departments and rescue squads."

The Augusta County School Board voted in July to purchase six weapon detectors for its buildings, and the Board of Supervisors has been trying to find a way to buy even more in an effort to keep guns out of schools.

Down the road about half a mile, a volunteer fire department trying to find a way to make ends meet is putting more guns into the hands of county residents.

More about guns in our county: Local chapter of armed women is all about safety — and accuracy.

— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Gun raffles, banned elsewhere, help keep local volunteer fire departments funded