LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The community isn't quite laying out the welcome mat for a gun store coming to the Highlands Douglass neighborhood.
The store is scheduled to open its doors in the Bardstown Center on Bardstown Road at Kaelin Avenue, near the Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen. That's near the Highlands, not far from Trevilian Way and the Belknap neighborhood.
Dustin McElroy is the owner and is currently licensed to sell firearms from his home.Â
McElroy's federal firearms license was approved just a few weeks ago.Â
Wednesday evening, more than 300 people packed Assumption High School to hear the details of the new firearms shop.
"Our neighborhood is opposed to the gun store. We don't support it at all," said Timmie Butler, with the Belknap Neighborhood Association. "We've surveyed our neighbors. Over 80% of them said it doesn't belong here for safety and especially for our children."
But not everyone agrees, as some don't see it as an issue.
"You can't buy a gun from a gun store unless you're over 18 years old," Kevin, a Highlands resident and gun owner, said. "If you buy a gun from a gun store, you have to present an ID. You have to pass a background check right there. That's Kentucky law, and it's federal law. I don't see why these people are upset."
An official opening date for the gun store has not been publicly announced. The neighborhood plans to hold demonstrations when it does open.
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