New gun shop in downtown Morgantown faces public scrutiny

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) - “Big Daddy Unlimited” is a Florida based online gun retailer -- now they’re aiming to open up shop in Morgantown.

But the Facebook group “Protect Morgantown” has voiced their concerns with the store and its location.

It’s on the corner of University Ave. and Kirk St. across from Hazel Ruby Park. It’s one of the busiest parts of the city, just down the road from WVU’s main campus.

“Protect Morgantown’s” founder is a concerned mother, Jodi Hollingshead, she wants the city to change zoning for gun stores in the future.

“We’re not trying to close down any existing retailers, we’re not trying to close down pawn shops -- we just want a zoning changes so that retailers like Big Daddy Guns can’t open downtown in our neighborhoods,” said Hollingshead.

However, several people spoke in support of the gun store as well, including Big Daddy Unlimited cofounder Sherrie McKnight.

She says the company’s mission is to spread the second amendment wherever they can.

“I mean this is chance to help people in these areas become more safe -- a lot of the trouble we’re having is a lot of people want to defund police so if we cant protect and defend ourselves then who is going to protect us if not ourselves,” said McKnight.

She says their headquarters are located in a college town much like Morgantown where they even offer special firearm safety training classes for student organizations.

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