Weirdest part of the open carry gun debate raging in Royal Oak, where the city council also took on the marijuana dispenser factions this week, is this: The topic never came up in all the years the Labor Day event was held in Pontiac.

I know how guns, violence and crime stories out of Pontiac inspire readers to degrade the city, and the idea of open carry advocates coming to Pontiac to practice what they preach would have prompted hundreds of comments on stories. Yet it never came up.

And here it is, the first time Arts, Beats and Eats leaves the city, a gun issue comes up. Wow. They can't win, unless controversy creates feet on the street.

We'll see, and we'll be watching at The Oakland Press.