Gee Whiz – Secret Service Says No Guns at Republican Convention
Here is a real shocker. As we guessed in our comment on our previous post about a petition to allow firearm carry at the Republican National Convention, the Secret Service does not want a bunch of random armed people around the event. They are apparently still expecting a fair turnout of loons, as Cleveland shells out a $1.5M brokerage fee to AON Risk Services for a $10M “protest insurance” policy for the event.
The Secret Service says only authorized law enforcement will be allowed to carry firearms at the Republican Party nominating convention, ignoring an online petition calling for convention attendees to also be permitted to carry them.
The petition, started anonymously last week on Change.org, has attracted the signatures of over 50,000 people who said they want the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, which is hosting the convention, to reverse its ban on weapons.
The Secret Service, which is responsible for security at the July event, said in a statement that only “authorized law enforcement partners…may carry a firearm inside of the protected site.”
“Individuals determined to be carrying firearms will not be allowed past a predetermined outer perimeter checkpoint, regardless of whether they possess a ticket to the event,” the statement added.
The three remaining Republican U.S. presidential candidates have each advocated allowing people to openly carry firearms. Both Texas Senator Ted Cruz and businessman Donald Trump have criticized so-called gun-free zones, especially schools, saying those policies make the sites less safe.
Many of those sharing the petition on Twitter are less interested in the issue for reasons of defending 2nd Amendment rights to firearms than pushing the Republican Party on its adherence to the issue.
Firearms were also banned at the previous Republican convention, which was held in Tampa in 2012.
There are already concerns that this year’s convention will be testier than usual, especially if no Republican presidential candidate has emerged as the party’s nominee.
Petition to Allow Firearm Carry at GOP Convention Gaining Traction
Petition for Republican Convention: Let Them Carry Guns
Chris Hannas
VOA News
March 27, 2016
The three remaining Republican U.S. presidential candidates have each advocated allowing people to openly carry firearms, and an online petition is challenging them to stand behind those policies and call for firearms to be allowed at the party’s nominating convention in July.
Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena is hosting the convention, but has a policy banning any weapons from the facility. It is allowed to do so under law in the state of Ohio, where people can otherwise openly carry guns.
Both Texas Senator Ted Cruz and businessman Donald Trump have criticized so-called gun-free zones, especially schools, saying those policies make the sites less safe.
Trump said in December he would abolish gun-free zones on his first day in office, while Cruz told supporters in December the zones only create places where an attacker knows people will be unarmed. Ohio Governor and presidential candidate John Kasich last year eliminated gun-free zones at the state’s National Guard facilities.
[Nearly 45,000] people have signed the Change.org petition that says the candidates should call on the Cleveland arena to suspend its no-gun policy, for the National Rifle Association to condemn it, and for Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus to be ready to relocate the entire convention if guns are not allowed. Continue reading
