Ariz. GOP Raffles Brand of Gun Used to Shoot Giffords

Awkward: The prize for a Republican fundraiser raffle in Arizona is … the same brand of gun used to shoot the state’s Democratic congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords. And it's in her own district: The Pima County Republican Party announced the raffle in an Aug. 26 e-newsletter, the Huffington Post reports. For $10, supporters get one of 125 tickets for a chance to win the Glock 23 handgun with ammo; the money will go toward Get Out the Vote efforts. Jared Lee Loughner allegedly used a Glock 19 to shoot Giffords and kill six others in Tucson.

The Pima County Republican Party has said in the past it will not seek to remove Giffords from office prior to next year’s election, and the vice chairman of the party told Fox News in July, “Many of us know Gabby and we’re all praying for her continued recovery.” Click to see the ad touting the gun raffle. (More Gabrielle Giffords stories.)