Is Antioch Cops' Gun Giveaway Legal?
California state law prohibits the sale of raffle tickets on the Internet, but that hasn't stopped the Antioch Police Officers Association from selling raffle tickets online to people hoping to win a free gun.
According to a story published Aug. 14 on EastCountyToday.net, Hook Line and Sinker of Oakley had donated a .45 caliber firearm valued at over $800 to the police union, which plans to raffle off the weapon at its annual poker tournament this Saturday. Another company, Delta Tactical Training Group, is donating a pistol safety course to the raffle, according to the story.
The story provides a link to the Antioch POA website, which links to an event registration page. There, visitors can purchase as many as 25 raffle tickets at once with a credit card. (Click here for an archived version of the order form.)
California Penal Code section 320.5 governs which organizations qualify to hold raffles and how the raffles must be conducted. The law states: "A raffle may not be operated or conducted in any manner over the Internet, nor may raffle tickets be sold, traded, or redeemed over the Internet."
According to the Attorney General's website, charitable organizations are also required to notify the state at least 60 days prior to holding a raffle for fundraising purposes. A search on the California Department of Justice's Registry Verification Search page failed to turn up a raffle registration form for the police union's raffle.