Citizens Demand to Carry Weapons Into GOP Convention

Citizens Demand to Carry Their Weapons Into GOP Convention
Secret Service: “NO!”

​by Marcinho Savant
Staff Writer

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Quicken Loans Arena is home to the upcoming Republican national convention, in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland is ranked the city with its population of 397,106 residents, the ninth most dangerous city in America. Forbes cites a violent crime rate of 1,363 per 100,000 residents.

Last month, multiple online petitions circulating, demanding permission for attendees of the event days, to carry their, legally registered, concealed weapons into the venue, as a matter of concerns for self-protection in such a statistically dangerous town. The most popular appears on change.org. It contains the following statements:

“Cleveland, Ohio is consistently ranked as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in America. By forcing attendees to leave their firearms at home, the RNC and Quicken Loans Arena are putting tens of thousands of people at risk both inside and outside of the convention site," asserted the text of one petition launched by "Americans for Responsible Open Carry. 

"This doesn't even begin to factor in the possibility of an ISIS terrorist attack on the arena during the convention. Without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks," it continued. At least that’s one perspective.  ​

bearingarms.com

“It could be that I misspoke, but this was a long convoluted subject,” Trump replied. “You really ought to hear the whole thing. This was a long convoluted question. This was a long discussion and they just cut it out. And frankly it was really convoluted.”

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www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

​Even though Ohio is a concealed-carry state, despite garnering nearly fifty-thousand signatures on the petition, the venue has an existing ban on firearms on their premises. It is designated a “gun-free” zone. Their policy, as listed on their website, is clear: “firearms and other weapons of any kind are strictly forbidden on the premises of Quicken Loans Arena.”

True to form, Donald Trump had a comment, and used the self-aggrandizing, "I have to see what it says, I'm a very, very strong person for Second Amendment. I think very few people are stronger. And I have to see the petition. But I'm not going to comment to you when I haven't seen it."

The petition also states: “We must take a stand. We cannot allow the national nominating convention of the party of Lincoln and Reagan to be hijacked by weakness and political correctness. The policies of the Quicken Loans Arena do not supersede the rights given to us by our Creator in the U.S. Constitution."

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The Petition's Demands

THEREFORE, WE ARE CALLING TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING FIVE POINTS OF ACTION:

1. From the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland: A suspension of their policy preventing the open carry of firearms on the premises of the arena from July 18-21, 2016 to coincide with the Republican National Convention.

2. From the National Rifle Association: An immediate condemnation of the egregious affront to the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution constituted by the "gun-free zone" loophole to the state law.

3. From Ohio Governor John Kasich: A concerted effort to use his executive authority to override the "gun-free zone" loophole being exploited by the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

4. From Reince Priebus and the Republican National Committee: An explanation of how a venue so unfriendly to Second Amendment rights was chosen for the Republican Convention. Further, we demand a contingency plan to relocate the convention to another location should the Quicken Loans Arena refuse to honor the constitutional rights of the RNC guests to open carry firearms during the convention.

5. From all Republican candidates for President: You have been brave in raising awareness about the immense dangers posed by "gun-free zones." In order to ensure the safety of your supporters, delegates and all attendees at the convention in July, you must call upon the RNC to rectify this affront to our Second Amendment freedoms and insist upon a suspension of the Quicken Loans Arena's unconstitutional "gun-free zone" loophole. Every American is endowed with a God-given Constitutional right to carry a gun wherever and whenever they please.” 

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US President Barack H. Obama, surrounded by his Secret Service detail. Image Credit: TOTPI.com

​At press time, the Change.org petition, entitled “Allow Open Carry of Firearms at the Quicken Loans Arena during the RNC Convention in July”, had obtained 53,155 signatures. The document was created by a user called The Hyperationalist, shown as being from Cleveland, OH.

RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said, “The Republican Party has been and will continue to be a staunch supporter of the 2nd amendment. It is in our Platform and is strongly supported by our candidates.” However, concerning jurisdiction and final say, she added, “The Republican National Convention is a National Special Security Event, which means the Secret Service is the lead agency and we will defer to their planning as it relates to safety and security of the Convention."

The Secret Service have enacted that lead stating that it has "authority to preclude firearms from entering sites visited by our protectees, including those located in open-carry states.

"Only authorized law enforcement personnel working in conjunction with the Secret Service for a particular event may carry a firearm inside of the protected site". In the same statement, they declared that any person, ticket, credentialed, or otherwise attending, with a firearm in their possession, will be turned away, or removed.

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