If you go What: “Rally for Our Rights” When: 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday Where: Broadway and Canyon Boulevard, Boulder

Boulder police again plan to use discretion in enforcing open-carry rules during Saturday’s planned “Rally for Our Rights” downtown, pointing to a possible repeat of a similar pro-gun protest in April at which demonstrators were allowed to wield weapons in violation of the city’s laws.

“The Boulder Police Department has contacted event coordinators to reiterate city open-carry laws,” spokeswoman Shannon Aulabaugh said in an emailed statement Thursday. “Officers will monitor Saturday’s event and allow participants to express their constitutional rights, while protecting the public safety for attendees and the community.”

Boulder statutes prohibit the open carry of a firearm unless it’s contained in a carrying case, which could mean a holster for handguns, or a clearly marked container for rifles. At the first “Rally for Our Rights” in April, police chose not to arrest or cite several protesters carrying un-cased AR-15s — a move city officials said was designed “to avoid conflict.”

Responding to a more direct question about whether officers will allow protesters to carry weapons in violation of the law on Saturday, Aulabaugh would only say, “The ordinance will be enforced with discretion.”

Saturday’s rally will mark the first organized event since the City Council on May 15 voted unanimously to outlaw the sale and possession of assault weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. Details regarding exemption and implementation are still being worked out, and the ban will not go into effect until June 15 — six days after the rally.

That means the soon-to-be-illegal weapons could make a last appearance in Boulder. Rally organizer Lesley Hollywood said she wasn’t sure how many people were intending to openly carry firearms, but stressed that the event was not an open carry protest.

“We’re going to push this message as to what this ban has done, which is to criminalize law-abiding citizens,” said Hollywood, who lives in Johnstown. That being said, open carry “is our constitutional right, so of course we’re not going to infringe on that.”

A Facebook page for the rally reminded participants of Boulder’s laws and encouraged them “to act in a lawful manner.” But it warned of the potential for enforcement action: “If you do choose to engage in civil disobedience … by openly carrying a rifle you will not be turned away, but do so of your own volition and are cognizant that there may be potential consequences.”

Comments on the page indicate that some planned attendees have purchased clear bags to hold their rifles.

The rally will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Demonstrators will line Broadway near Canyon Boulevard. The event also will serve as a fundraiser for Denver-based Mountain States Legal Foundation, which sued Boulder on behalf of residents and area gun shop and rifle club, one day after the council’s vote.

A raffle will be held for a “mystery item” donated by Boulder’s Gunsport.

Hollywood said organizers have not communicated with police regarding the probability of enforcement. But she is hopeful they will employ similar tactics as at the last rally.

“Our goal is to have a peaceful, civil rally,” she said. “This doesn’t have to be scary.”

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Gunsport was a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the city.

Shay Castle: 303-473-1626, castles@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/shayshinecastle