Orlando shooting: Chicago gun shop offers AR-15 in raffle to benefit victims

McHENRY, Ill. -- A suburban Chicago gun shop is raffling off an AR-15 rifle to raise funds for victims of the Orlando shooting.

The weapon being offered by Second Amendment Sports in McHenry is similar to the gun used to kill 49 people and wound dozens more in a gay night club on June 12.

Gunman Omar Mateen used a model of semi-automatic rifle similar to the AR-15 called a Sig Sauer MCX. He had bought it legally just days before the nightclub massacre.

Bert Irslinger Jr., who owns the shop with his father, says their intent is not to offend or make a political statement, but to help the Orlando victims.

The Chicago Tribune reports Kathleen Larimer said she considers the raffle inappropriate. Her son, John Larimer, a 27-year-old Navy sailor from Crystal Lake, was among the 12 people shot to death at an Aurora, Colorado, theater.

"Guns are not toys," she told the newspaper. "They should be taken seriously. I'm not saying they should be illegal, but raffling off a gun is not taking its killing power seriously."

Colleen Daley, executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence in Chicago, also had problems with the raffle.

"I'm glad people are trying to raise money," she told the Tribune. "I just don't think it's the most appropriate way to do that. These guns are weapons of war, meant to kill large numbers of people in a short time, which is what happened in Orlando. I find it very distasteful and offensive."

Second Amendment Sports plans to announce the raffle's winner on July 31.