KITTERY, Maine�� A planned protest against the Kittery Trading Post for its sales of "assault-style" weapons was met on Saturday with equal numbers of people who support KTP's right to sell the guns, and their right to own them.

They stood on opposite sides of the main entrance to KTP and both sides remained civil. There was a police presence to discourage any conflict.

Asked to comment on the activity outside of the retail sports store, a KTP spokesperson said there would be none. They did have the U.S. Bill of Rights scrolling on the sign at their entrance, including the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms.

Members of the Resistance Seacoast and Kittery Trading Post Action Group were calling for an end to the sale of �assault-style rifles.� Participants were asked to wear orange, the preferred color of gun control advocates. In response, the gun rights advocates wore orange, a color for hunter safety in the woods.

"I think if everyone wants to be entitled to a musket�� fine," said Resistance Seacoast member Carol Selsberg. "That is what our Founding Fathers meant by the right to bear arms. They had no idea about assault weapons."

Not true, said Derek Levasseur of Fairfield, Maine, who writes a blog called Derek US Patriot. "The Founding Fathers knew exactly what they were doing," he said. "By the time the Second Amendment was written, assault rifles already existed."

Wendy Segit of Eliot belongs to Moms Demand Action, a group fighting for better gun control laws. She said she did not come to the rally representing that group, but as a mom and grandmother fearful for the safety of her family and families everywhere.

"I have grandchildren in schools nearby," Segit said. "I became active after the Newtown shootings. I came here today because the idea that Kittery Trading Post sells high-powered weapons a few blocks from a school is not right and I felt I needed to do something."

Levasseur said it was wrong to target KTP, a big business in town that employs many local people.

"Many of the people here to support gun rights traveled a long way to be here today, to have our side heard," he said. "We are good people in Maine who believe in our rights. We carry guns, yet we are the safest state in America because we respect that right. We are law-abiding citizens who carry firearms."

Levassuer said he owns three assault-style rifles, each for a different purpose in hunting, for smaller game, deer, bear and moose.

"An AR-15 is no different than a wooden stock gun," he said. "These are not military weapons. M-4, a military weapon, cannot be bought by civilians. AR-15 is a semi-automatic, and for hunting its perks include being better access to change components, making it easier to own."

Selsberg said to not remove assault-style weapons from the public was wrong in light of what they have been used for.

"We cannot forget the students of Parkland and so many other places," she said. "My question to everyone on either side of the issue has been this�� what was your scariest day in school? We were scared because we didn't study for that test. We were scared Ronnie would not ask us to the prom. We did not ask if we would be shot today. Civilians do not need assault rifles."

Joe Dobbins of Hartford, Maine, wore a green Army helmet on which he had mounted a wooden cutout of a black assault rifle. "If you say I can't have one; I will wear one," Dobbins said. "I think if you feel strongly enough to say something�� do it loud."

Levassuer said he has no problem with gun control tactics like better background checks.

"The laws could be strengthened," he said. "But I think what is in place works when they are used appropriately. We want everyone to be protected. I think I can use my guns to protect myself and my family."

N.H. Rep. Lisa Freeman, R-Manchester, said people are opposing guns like the AR-15 because they have been used in heinous acts. It does not make her want to stop people from owning them.

"I am not a gun nut, but I can shoot and I belong to a women's gun group," she said. "I respect guns and I don't ever want anyone to tell me I can't carry one. It took a long time to get constitutional carry rights in New Hampshire and I don't want that to be repealed. If people do not think tyrannical overthrows happen, they are living in a dream. I probably cannot protect myself and my family from a large intruder by myself, but I can with a firearm."

Resistance Seacoast members say major retailers such as Dick�s Sporting Goods and Walmart have suspended the sale of AR rifles since the rash of deadly mass shootings in the United States.