A Santa Clarita vape shop is rolling its Independence Day celebration into one for the Second Amendment, as well — by giving away an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with a raffle for customers, the owner of Awesometown Vapors said Tuesday.

The owner of Awesometown Vapors, located in Saugus, is raffling off the semi-automatic rifle July 2 as part of a Fourth of July sale.

“In an effort to draw attention to the constant encroachment on our right to vape, we have opted to give away an AR-15 rifle,” said Guy Casablanca, the owner of Awesometown Vapors. “Because that has become the poster child for devices that are sought to be banned with really unsubstantiated grounds behind (banning them).”

The vape shop owner stressed the promotion was not about the recent controversy surrounding the AR-15 rifle, which is similar to the one used in the Orlando shooting earlier this month.

The winner of the raffle will not be able to pick up the rifle from the store, according to officials.

“There is absolutely no way the state of California would allow me to hand a semi-automatic rifle to a stranger over my counter,” said Casablanca.

“The person who wins (the prize) has to be able to legally purchase that firearm,” said Rich Nagler, owner of Adams Armory, and a retired Sheriff’s Department sergeant who has more than three decades of experience with firearms.

“On the surface of this thing, yes, (it is) very controversial,” said Casablanca. “Is there any way to circumvent the California law? Of course not.”

Officials with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station said that as long as all proper procedures are met and the winner passes the California background check, the giveaway is legal.

“As long as it’s a California (law)-compliant gun, and the winner can pass the background check, and that the transfer of registration is done legally, then there’s nothing illegal about (the gun giveaway),” said Kevin Duxbury of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “They would have to go through a licensed gun dealer to do the transfer and the gun shop would be responsible (for screening the raffle winner).

“It would be the same background checks, and you have to over 18 to buy a long rifle,” he said, “and you have to be over 21 to buy a handgun.”

Casablanca drew a comparison between the rights of those who vape and second amendment advocates.

“We could give away a 500 gallon drum of e-juice (which is used in vaporizers) and nobody will care. But the minute that we put that (giveaway) up, now suddenly people want to know what this is all about,” Casablanca said. “This is about your right to choose going away. There are factions in this country that want to see my vapor device banned. There are factions in this country that want to see that AR-15 gone, as well.”

Casablanca said the reaction to this promotion has been “mixed.”

“Our immediate response from our customers and from the people that are close to us is very supportive. We bounced it off of a lot of people before we actually decided to go ahead and do this,” he said. “We knew there was going to be immediate backlash. We knew that we would be ostracized by some people, including some within our own industry.”

However, he emphasized that the goal of this promotion was to draw attention to freedoms that are being taken away.

“We deliberated long and hard about this before this promotion,” said Casablanca. “This is more than just a vape issue. It’s a civil liberties issue. This is a freedom to do what you will issue.”

Perry Smith contributed to this story.