Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by rifle fire on August 4, 1968, a fact that appears lost on the Multnomah County Republican Party.
The Oregon GOP group is reportedly raffling off a rifle to “honor” MLK, and Abraham Lincoln too.
Their website, which reiterates the widely disputed claim that King was a Republican, says:
Portland, OR January 13, 2014: Multnomah Country Republicans recognize the incredible time of year we are in. In successive months to start the year, we celebrate the legacy of two great Republicans who demonstrated leadership and courage that all of us still lean on today: Martin Luther King, Jr[.] and Abraham Lincoln. In celebrating these two men, and the denial of the rights they fought so hard against, the Multnomah County Republican Party announces that we have started our third raffle for an AR-15 rifle (or handgun of the winner’s choice). The drawing will be held at our Lincoln Day Dinner on February 15th, 2014. Tickets are once again $10 apiece, or 12 for $100, and there is a hard cap of 500 tickets in the raffle.
According to Talking Points Memo, the keynote speaker at the raffle will be Sen. Ted Cruz’s father Rafael, who infamously once said President Obama “should go back to Kenya.”