Jon Caldara, the boisterous frontman for the Independence Institute, a right-leaning Denver-based think tank, is well known for the delight he takes in tweaking liberal sensibilities — and the organization's ongoing "Meat and Heat" raffle, whose prizes include a Glock 19 handgun, a quarter of a hog and an eighth of a steer, is specifically designed to do just that.

"We figure that there are two things that every Coloradan should have — a Glock 19 and a freezer full of meat," Caldara says. "So we thought we'd better put them both together for the 'Meat and Heat' raffle. This way, it should scare every progressive in the state that two such distasteful things could be in one raffle."

But Caldara doesn't press any joy buzzers while discussing the raffle's beneficiary: FASTER Colorado, an Independence Institute-affiliated program run by executive director Laura Carno that trains teachers who want to carry a gun in the classroom how to defend themselves and their students should they be confronted by a school shooter.