Demonstrators against gun-free zones in Detroit hold Greektown protest

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Virtually every day on FOX 2 News you’ll see stories of families who have lost someone violently to guns or otherwise as we tell the stories of the surviving people who have to live with the trauma

As gun rights activists protested downtown Thursday responding to a proposal that would make parts of the city gun-free zones, it attracted attention from many passing by.

"Survivor's stories are not in the media, our healing is not in the media," yelled one woman to the protesters. "I'm making sure you hear my story. My story is important, my daughter's story is important. Our story is important."

But she found no arguments.

"I agree with that," said a Second Amendment supporter before she stormed off.

The gun rights demonstrator acknowledged the pain of violence and extrapolated on his point.

"She thinks we’re empowering murderers," he said. "That's not what we came here to do today. We came here to defend our rights and to stand up against that exact situation."

The small group assembled in Detroit to protest the gun-free zone proposals for Greektown, the Riverfront, and other areas.

The activists strongly oppose the plan saying that trading civil liberties for safety is the wrong idea.

"I believe the state can only restrict your rights and it won’t change the violent crime epidemic, rather it will change the vector of how these are perpetrated," he said.

"Criminals love unarmed victims," said another demonstrator. "We need our guns to protect ourselves against a tyrannical government and against criminals. Sometimes they are one and the same."

"We don’t support gun-free zones," said a female protester. "These folks shouldn’t be disarmed - the good folks should not be disarmed."

Detroit City Councilwoman at large Mary Waters previously spoke with FOX 2 about the measure she proposed after a rash of shootings downtown over a weekend in April.

"There are some people who like to see it, and of course, you have the other people who say what about me," Waters said. "The fact that I am a licensed gun carrier, what about me. They are totally against it and I understand where they are coming from. They say why don't you address the root causes? Broken family structures - now there's a root cause."