Gun advocates, protesters rally outside Lombard gun shop

Opponents of gun sales faced off against gun advocates Thursday outside a gun shop in west suburban Lombard.

The confrontation was fueled by social media, but always remained peaceful.

“The thing about it is, it has a thirty round magazine,” said Bernadette Green.

Bernadette Green owns North American Firearms in Lombard. It's the tenth gun shop protested this year by members of a group called ‘Peaceful Communities.’ 

“Our message is very clear and simple. These businesses make money off of selling guns into a society that has too many guns, but they're not paying for the damage that they cause,” said Lee Goodman of Peaceful Communities.

“We're just going to sit here, offer them doughnuts and coffee, and wish them a good day,” Green said.

Green welcomes such protests, because she says more people then learn of her gun shop in Lombard.

People like Bryan Shenuk.

FOX 32: Did you know there was a gun shop here until you saw these people?

Bryan Shenuk: “I had no idea.”

Shenuk says he needs a gun for his trip to Yellowstone Park this summer.

“This would actually be for bear defense because we're traveling out west for a family vacation, so we want to pick up something a little larger caliber than what we normally carry,” Shenuk said.

As word spread Thursday on social media, the number of gun advocates here soon outnumbered the protesters.

“They got to do what they got to do, but we're here supporting our Second Amendment,” said gun advocate Tony Gray.

Events like this one are now playing out against the backdrop of the massacre in Orlando, where the killer used legally purchased firearms to commit a terrorist act.

“These protesters have been doing this before Orlando. They'll be doing it after Orlando. Orlando doesn't have anything to do with the right of people to keep and bear arms,” said Mike Weisman

But protester Julie Campbell, a Lombard resident, says the Orlando attack points to the need for new restrictions on the sale of assault weapons.

“I'm heartbroken, because I think Lombard is a peaceful community, and I'm heartbroken that there is a gun shop here,” said protester Julie Campbell.