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Gun rights group raffles AR-15 rifle with Hillary Clinton portrait

The president of a gun rights groups says “thousands and thousands” of tickets have been sold in a raffle for an AR-15, 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a framed portrait of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, told The Post that buyers are scooping up tickets — starting at $10 a pop — for the Election Day raffle aimed at defeating local Democratic lawmakers described as “anti-gunners” on a website for the fundraiser dubbed “The Hillary Clinton Special.”

“Of course, we won’t tell you what to do with the photo, but when we ran a picture of Hillary on the front of our newsletter, we heard it was very popular at the range,” the website says.

Valone dismissed critics who blasted the raffle as a “dangerous stunt” that degrades a much-needed debate on gun control in America.

“No rational person with a basic understanding of the English language could possibly see it as a threat,” Valone told The Post. “And if they do, it says a lot more about them than it does about us.”

The Raleigh-based group is now looking into the legality of a winner from outside North Carolina, as people from other states like New Jersey have purchased tickets, Valone said.

“Judging by the reaction, people like this idea a lot,” he told The Post, adding that anyone who believes the group is advocating violence is flat-out wrong.

“I find it remarkable that the left so often reads violence into the remarks of its opposition,” Valone said. “These claims are made to silence their opposition.”

The group’s website was even briefly down Thursday amid “high call volume,” according to its Twitter account.

Transfer of the Palmetto State Armory firearm will be made in accordance with state and federal laws and the winner will undergo a background check if necessary, Valone said.

Asked why he included a picture of Clinton in the raffle, Valone said it served two purposes. If elected, Clinton will become the ultimate guns salesman, prompting droves of people to buy as many firearms as possible before she “guts the Second Amendment,” he said.

“That’s the humorous answer,” Valone said. “The serious answer is that she’ll gut the Second Amendment if people don’t get out and vote.”

Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement to The Post the raffle was “downright dangerous.”

“It’s also a disturbing lesson in cause and effect,” the statement read. “We’ve seen before how similarly violent rhetoric can turn deadly. This organization is knowingly playing with fire, and the consequences are very real. Furthermore, if you build a presidential campaign on repeatedly suggesting supporters assassinate your opponent, as Donald Trump has, you are ultimately responsible for the action they take.”

Peter Hambler, executive director of Americans for Responsible Solutions, which was formed by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, said the raffle was misguided.

“This dangerous stunt just further degrades the debate on gun safety that our country needs,” Hambler said in an email to WRAL.com. “North Carolina voters and law-abiding gun owners everywhere deserve a lot better.”

Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, declined to comment directly on the Clinton-themed contest but said gun raffles in general are “very popular” in rural North Carolina with a wide range of civic, religious and political organizations, in accordance with all state and federal laws.