In July, a girls' softball team in Oregon needed to raise money to travel to a tournament in California. So, they held a raffle — 20 dollars a ticket. The prize? An AR-15 rifle.

(Jeremy Lucas ) "With such debate and controversy going on around that, I was just a little stunned," Reverend Jeremy Lucas tells As it Happens guest host Rosemary Barton. "But, I also knew that these girls had obviously been playing really hard on their softball team … So, I didn't want to diminish what they were doing with their sports."

Lucas, a pastor at Christ Episcopal Church in Oregon, decided to buy up as many raffle tickets as he could — with the hope that the gun wouldn't end up in the wrong hands. Using church funds, Lucas purchased about a third of the tickets. It cost $3000.

Lucas won the gun.

This isn't the first gun I've owned. But, I never would have purchased an AR-15. That's just not something I feel like needs to be in the world. - Reverend Jeremy Lucas

Reverend Jeremy Lucas bought $3000 worth of raffle tickets. (Jeremy Lucas) "I was happy that I had won the gun and that I knew this gun would never be used to hurt anyone in the world. But, at the same time I had very mixed feelings about actually, now, being the owner of an AR-15," he says.

"I'm very familiar with guns. And this isn't the first gun I've owned. But, I never would have purchased an AR-15. That's just not something I feel like needs to be in the world."

AR-15's have been connected to several mass shootings in the United States. Last week, three teenagers died at a house party near Seattle after a young man opened fire. Earlier in the week, the suspect had posted a photo of an AR-15 to Instagram.

Lucas says he has received lots of positive feedback to his decision to enter the raffle — including an email from the sister of a teacher who died in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The pastor has received some negative feedback, as well, mostly on social media.

Lucas is planning on turning this gun into a piece of art. He hopes it will "open up a conversation around guns that isn't quite so acrimonious and filled with hate."

For more on this story, listen to our full interview with Rev. Jeremy Lucas.