Tea party group auctioning off assault rifle in spite of Newtown massacre

Just three days after the brutal massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, a tea party group in North Carolina announced it would auction off an assault rifle, despite the fact that a similar firearm had just been used to murder 20 school children and six adults.

"We have given the Federal Government permission to disarm school officials by force of law and threat of imprisonment," an essay on the Ashville Tea Party's website explains. "They are now incapable of defending the children under their care. This is the reality. Does this not need to be changed?"

The essay, written by Ashville Tea Party Chairman Jane Bilello, goes on to insist that the group planned the raffle "weeks ago" and they simply didn't make their plans known until Monday.

"ATPAC decided to go through with this raffle at this time because everyone is paying attention," Bilello concluded. "We refuse to allow the Left and the Liberal mindset to once again hijack the conversation as they have and allow the political hacks to pass laws that continue to limit our inalienable right to protect ourselves and the most defenseless among us."

The group is set to auction off a .223 caliber AR-15 assault rifle made by arms manufacturer DPMS Panther Arms. An .223 caliber AR-15 made by Bushmaster Firearms was used in Newtown. They are also auctioning off a .22 magnum pistol.

The same group staged a "machine gun social" in October.

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Photo: AFP.

(H/T: Salon)