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National Gun-Control Debate Plays Out In Northwest Suburb

(CBS) – The two sides to the national gun debate squared off Friday outside a northwest suburban firearms store.

CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.

"If somebody attacks me, I should be able to pull out my gun and use it for self-defense," gun-rights supporter Wes Bielinski said.

Sally Walshe, on the other side of the disagreement, took aim at assault weapons.

"You will not get rid of mass shootings, regular mass shootings, if you don't get rid of assault weapons," she said.

Both sides stood their ground outside DS Arms pro shop and manufacturing facility, in Lake Barrington, in the wake of the Orlando massacre.

Lee Goodman of Peaceful Communities organized the protest.

"We have to have fewer guns in circulation," he said. "Just about every country in the world is doing a better job than we are."

He added: "The responsibility lies with the gun industry, but also with every person in society to speak up. This problem has been with us for a long time."

Michael Danforth is one of the attorneys for DS Arms.

"I sympathize with their cause, but at the end of the day, I think they're misguided," he said. "We manufacture a lawful tool, that should be used and is generally used by lawful trained citizens and that doesn't change what happened in Orlando. What happened in Orlando was a tragedy."

While he says people should have the right to protect themselves with firearms, under the Second Amendment, others at the protest said mass shootings have become too common and they won't end unless opponents take a stand.

 

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