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An Illinois armory that has partnered with a local little league to raffle off an AR-15 military-style assault rifle says that tickets are selling like “gangbusters.”

Atwood Armory co-owner Charidy Butcher told The Raw Story that her phone had been “ringing nonstop” since the raffle for Atwood-Hammond Little League began on Tuesday.

“We have teamed up with the Atwood-Hammond Little League to raffle off a Rock River Arms Tactical Operator AR-15,” she explained. “It just kicked off today. It has been going gangbusters, my phone has been ringing nonstop since 4:30 this morning.”

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“It’s just been crazy. The amount of interest so far has just been astronomical,” Butcher added. “It’s for a good cause for the kids and we’re just trying to raise as much money as we can. Their fundraiser last year only raised $10.”

Butcher said that she had gotten a few negative comments. Some have question the wisdom of raffling off a weapon similar to the one used to slaughter 20 elementary school children in Connecticut last year. Atwood-Hammond Little League includes kids in the same age range as those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

“But most everybody in the community has been awesome,” she insisted. “I’ve already gotten calls this morning from Pennsylvania, I’ve gotten calls from Washington state, I’ve gotten calls from Texas, I’ve gotten calls from Mississippi already wanting to know how they can buy tickets. So overall, the response has been tremendous.”

Butcher noted that if an out-of-state person won the raffle then the gun would be shipped to a dealer with a federal firearms licenses in the corresponding state to process the background check.

“No loopholes here, I promise.”

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In an interview with WAND on Monday, Butcher said that a similar raffle had raised over $7,000 for a local cancer foundation.

“You know, they’re a piece of metal basically,” she pointed out. “They’re not going to do the harm unless you’ve got the person holding them.”

Watch this video from WAND, broadcast March 14, 2013.

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