DETROIT, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Gun owners will be allowed to carry their weapons openly at an upcoming city festival in downtown Royal Oak, Mich., officials confirmed.
The Arts, Beats & Eats festival, expected to draw tens of thousands to Royal Oak during the Labor Day weekend, has become focus of the gun debate in Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.
Gun-rights activists say state law allows them to carry their guns openly, but many residents and families say they are concerned about safety, the newspaper reported.
"I know a lot of people who are not going to attend the festival," Jack Hoolehan, a retired GM employee from Royal Oak, said. "If people insist on bringing their arms, we're just not coming".
City commissioners, who had ordered a ban on guns at the festival, said they had no choice but to comply with state law and allow people to carry guns openly at the event. UPI
