25,000 Sign Petition to Allow Guns at Republican National Convention

While Ohio is an open carry state the owners of the arena where the convention will be held have banned guns from the premises, as is their right under Ohio law. RNC spokes person has said that the secret service, Cleveland police, and federal authorities will take care of security during the convention. The Republican National Convention in Cleveland will completely bans guns. The event will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena where “firearms and other weapons of any kind are strictly forbidden.”

"Kasich and Ted Cruz, have expressed vocal opposition to gun control. Trump has called for an end to gun-free zones in schools, and called places with gun bans “target practice for the sickos and for the mentally ill”.

The author of the petition, has taken issue with the arena's decision saying,

"This is a direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk," the petition says. "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."

The petition argues that "without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals or others who wish to threaten the American way of life."

The petition appeals to the Quicken Loans Arena to change their gun policy during the convention, which will be held July 18 to July 21."

"The group that claims to be behind the petition, Americans for Responsible Open Carry, appears to have been formed for the express purpose of creating the Change.org form. Twitter user Hyperationalist, whose biography reads “speaking truth to stupid”, took credit for the petition, and regardless of whether the form was created as parody, signatories’ comments show that many took it at face value."