Thousands of People Are Signing a Petition to Allow Firearms at the GOP Convention

Thousands of People Are Signing a Petition to Allow Firearms at the GOP Convention
Petition on Change.org (Screenshot/change.org)
3/25/2016
Updated:
3/25/2016

A petition posted to Change.org is pushing for open carry firearms to be permitted at the Republican National Convention this July in Cleveland, Ohio.

The petition has more than 12,000 signatures, as of noon Thursday.

“Though Ohio is an open carry state, which allows for the open carry of guns, the hosting venue—the Quicken Loans Arena—strictly forbids the carry of firearms on their premises,” the petition states.

The Quicken Loans Arena has a strict no-guns policy, hence why they are forbidding firearms during the convention. According to the petition, that policy “is a direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk.”

“We are all too familiar with the mass carnage that can occur when citizens are denied their basic God-given rights to carry handguns or assault weapons in public,” the petition reads.

The petition continues:

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.

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, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals, or others who wish to threaten the American way of life.

The petition was posted four days ago by author “N A”, but the profile user “no longer exists,” the site said.

The petition is addressed to the Quicken Loans Arena, the National Rifle Association, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Republican National Committee and its chairman, Reince Priebus, along with GOP presidential contenders Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

It is unclear if any major gun rights groups will support the idea.

Brian Herbert, director of safety and security for Quicken Loans Arena, did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

“Voters are enthusiastic about this process, and we will have a safe and productive convention in July,” Kirsten Kukowski, director of communications for the Republican National Convention, told the Las Vegas Review Journal on Monday.

Prior to Kukowski’s statements, Nevada Sen. Dean Heller also stated some concerns about safety issues at the event, saying things could get “pretty testy.”