Gun enthusiasts were met by protesters in Del Mar Saturday, who called the Crossroads of the West Gun Show disrespectful to those affected by a recent mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Members of the North County community have been protesting the gun show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for decades, but after 17 people, mostly students, were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month, the group said, "enough is enough." The group is calling on the fairground's board of directors to stop hosting gun shows.

"They’re basically selling killing machines and we need to protect our children," said Valerie Joy, a protester who joined dozens of others to chant, "love not hate that’s what makes America great" in a designated free speech zone outside the show.

But Bob Templeton, owner of the Crossroads of the West Gun Show, says it's not the types of guns his show is selling that prompt mass shootings like the one in Florida. Templeton said doing more to address mental health would be more beneficial as a preemptive measure.

"People who shouldn't have firearms who have mental problems or who have a criminal history, those are the people who need to be precluded, prohibited from owning and buying firearms," Templeton said.

Saturday's protest was sponsored by Never Again, a grassroots organization that calls on legislators to reform gun laws.

"Everybody is on edge now," said Never Again member, Rose Ann Sharp. "They say how easy it is for this violence to occur."

Gun owners counter that California already has some of the strictest gun laws and many here are equally concerned about their right to own a firearm.

"There’s absolutely no correlation between what happened at the ... high school in Parkland, Florida, and what happens here at the gun show," Templeton said. "So those who would close the gun show or who would argue that it's insensitive really are attempting to run over other persons' second amendment rights."

Templeton said that the gun show's attendance has spiked this year. He expects a crowd of 10,000 people.