Guns a concern at Republican convention in Cleveland

The city of Cleveland is concerned about visitors and protesters taking firearms downtown during next week's Republican National Convention, where thousands of people plan to demonstrate, reported the New York Times. 

Those who legally own guns can take them into the 1.7-square-mile area where events and protests connected to the convention will be held. Protesters will flood the city, with causes ranging from white supremacy to Palestinian rights. “Obviously, everybody is on edge after Dallas,” said Brian Kazy of the Cleveland City Council's Safety Committee. Kazy said he had never been concerned about Ohio’s open-carry laws, according to The Crime Report.  “If you had some mass confusion, even if you had a civilian who was carrying who would attempt to help out, I think the mentality of any law enforcement officer would see an individual with a gun, would see an individual possibly shoot and would react to that,” he said.
Officials are promising increased security during the Republican gathering. Within the convention area, the Secret Service will set up a smaller perimeter near the Quicken Loans Arena that will have stricter security and prohibit guns. 

Delegates to the convention will not be able to take guns onto the convention floor. Given the recent tumult around the nation, some leaders are anxious that the environment could turn dangerous. One group of current and former members of the military called the Oath Keepers, who have shown up at other tense events heavily armed, plan to carry weapons into Cleveland. Stephen Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, said he strongly supports citizens’ rights to bear arms, but he is urging people not to take their guns near Cleveland’s downtown during the convention. “The last thing in the world we need is anybody walking around here with AR-15s strapped to their back,” he said.

Tim Selaty, director of operations at Citizens for Trump, said his group was paying for private security to bolster the police presence. While Mr. Selaty said people should be allowed to carry guns, his group is banning long weapons from a rally in a park it is hosting on Monday.

“We’re going to insist that they leave any long arms out for sure because we believe that will make sure our people are safer,” he said. “In other words, no AR-15s, no shotguns or sniper rifles — all of the things that you would think somebody would bring in to hurt a lot of people in a very short time.”

But, he said, he does generally believe civilians being armed make for a safer environment and that he “can’t blame” people who are scared because of Dallas and want to come to Cleveland armed.

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