Outrage after AR-15-style rifle and Glock 17 offered as prizes in raffle for Texas children's softball league: reports

• A Texas girls' softball league offered guns as top prizes in a fundraising raffle, per reports.
• One parent told KPRC-TV that she was "shocked" by the choice of raffle prizes.

Powerful guns were offered as prizes in a fundraising raffle for a girls' softball league in Texas, leaving parents outraged, The Times of London reported.

The annual, end-of-season fundraising raffle for the South Montgomery County Girls Softball League has, in the past, included prizes of free registration for the league, priority parking, and items donated by local businesses, The Times reported.

But, this year, buying a $25 ticket offered players the chance to win a Smith & Wesson 15T II semi-automatic rifle or a Glock 17 pistol, the newspaper said.

One parent whose children play in the league told local media that she had filed a complaint about the raffle to the league's board. The league said it had received three complaints from parents regarding the raffle, per the Houston NBC News affiliate station KPRC-TV.

"I was shocked," said Jessica England, who has three daughters, during an interview with KPRC-TV. "It's really upsetting to me."

England told KPRC-TV that the prizes were inappropriate choices for a family-friendly fundraiser. "They wouldn't raffle off a liquor and tobacco basket, they wouldn't raffle off a gift card to a [cannabis] dispensary," she said. "Those are not appropriate for children's activities, and I don't think this is either."

The prizes also failed to consider the community's feelings surrounding the Uvalde mass shooting, which happened in May and took place at an elementary school in Texas, where the league is based, England said. "Not even four months ago, 19 children and two teachers were gunned down using a semi-automatic assault rifle just like the one being raffled here," she told KPRC-TV.

In a statement to KPRC-TV, the league initially defended its decision. "The gun raffle is a legal and common practice," they said.

"All winners will need to pass a background check before receiving any prize," it continued. "If winners don't pass the background check, they are deemed ineligible. SMGSL strives to be responsive to the needs of our membership."

However, according to KPRC-TV, the league has responded to the outrage by swapping the prize. Instead of the guns, the raffle winner will receive a $1,400 gift card to Springs Gun and Ammo, a local gun store, the local news station reported.

The South Montgomery County Girls Softball League did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.