It’s a monumental moment in history. Instead of the 2016 presidential candidates being the primary focus of current news stories, the venue hosting the Republican National Convention is the overriding issue crowding news sites.
And it all started with a petition. Posted on Monday on Change.org, the petition requested 5,000 signatures, a number that has since quadrupled, for the allowance of firearms inside the Convention, which takes place in Cleveland in July. According to Fox News, guns at the GOP Convention were banned by the Secret Service in 2012.
Courses of action the petition calls for include a suspension of the Quicken Loans Arena’s policy prohibiting open carry; a joint effort to be taken by Ohio Governor, John Kasich, to “override the ‘gun-free zone’ loophole;” and for a contingency plan to be developed to relocate the convention per the Quicken Loans Arena’s refusal of the policy suspension.
In addition, the appeal states that because Cleveland is a highly dangerous city, everyone at the convention would be put at risk if attendees were to be forced to leave their weapons at home.
“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.”
Along with people’s overall safety at the Convention being a concern, people are also nervous for Donald Trump’s performance at the event. According to the Convention website, Trump’s escalation towards the Republican nomination has caused discussions of a brokered contested convention among politicians and others spooked by the the public’s increasing support of the controversial presidential hopeful.
However, the website points out that brokered and contested conventions are not the same thing, contrary to popular belief. A brokered convention “refers to backroom deals and negotiations,” while a contested convention “entails delegates voting at the convention.”
Whether a brokered or contested convention results, it’s clear what the key issue is in this situation. Although Cleveland is a dangerous city, Trump’s rallies have proved that his supporters cannot control themselves, and I think allowing such firearms in a hot spot such as the Republican National Convention is just asking for trouble. Why arm people incapable of peacefully rallying for what they believe in? Maybe if Trump’s rallies went as smoothly as Bernie Sanders’ rallies, people wouldn’t have a need for such weapons.
Featured image via Flickr by M&R Glasgow under a Creative Commons license.
