A Missouri youth baseball group is selling raffle tickets for an AR-15 - the same rifle used to kill 17 students and adults during the Florida school shooting - to fund their team travels.
The coach of the nine-and-under team, Levi Patterson, said the raffle was launched prior to the shooting and plans to continue with the fundraiser despite receiving public backlash on social media, according to The Kansas City Star.
The gun was donated by the father of one of the children, who is also a co-founder of Black Rain Ordinance Inc., a weapons dealer in the city of Neosho.
Players aged from seven to nine are selling the tickets but Mr Patterson said none would be forced to participate if they feel uncomfortable.
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Mr Patterson told The Star he considered an alternative raffle prize in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, but eventually decided to "turn it into a positive thing" after "getting the hate" online.
A Facebook post that has since been removed called his decision "tone deaf" and showed a picture of the rifle next to the school logo.
Mr Patterson said while he understood people had "every right to stand up for what they believe in", he believes that "they have feelings to this specific type of gun (that are) different than people around here do", according to The Star.
As the criticism grew, Mr Patterson said donations of support had also poured in, with people from as far as Colorado offering to buy tickets.
The coach said "our hearts break for those involved" in the Florida shooting, but insists "gun raffles have been going on for years".
Hours after the Florida shooting, Lee Woodward, the Principal of South Elementary School in Neosho, encouraged purchases to support the raffle and the baseball team on her Facebook page.
Kansas Republican congressional candidate Tyler Tannahill and Missouri GOP senate candidate Austin Peterson were also criticised in the past week for offering AR-15 campaign giveaways, KMOV-TV reported.
A football team from Michigan's South Lyon High School recently cancelled their gun raffle also featuring an AR-15, according the Detroit Free Press.
A statement on the team's website said: "The sensitivity of the issue coupled with the untimely tragedy has led to the decision."
