03-30-2016, 02:55 PM
Quote:With the potential for a convoluted, multi-round fight to determine its presidential nominee (and the threat of riots if Donald Trump loses), this summer’s Republican National Convention is shaping up to be a historic, if not historically messy, spectacle. As if to make matters worse for a party that is already trying to fend off Trump’s takeover bid, the G.O.P must now contend with a new petition that calls for attendees, already in a high-pressure environment, to be allowed to “recognize our constitutional right to open carry firearms at the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in July 2016.”
More than 42,000 people have signed the petition, which appeared on Change.org last week and originally set a goal of just 5,000 signatures. Signatories are asking the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, the R.N.C.’s convention venue, to override its no-gun policies and allow attendees to open-carry approved weapons. While people are legally allowed to openly carry firearms in Ohio, the stadium itself does not allow guns inside. Security protocols for the presidential candidates, who are protected by the Secret Service, would also likely prohibit attendees from bringing weapons within their proximity.
But people supporting the petition, begun by someone listing his or her name as “N.A.,” according to USA Today, and backed by a group that the Akron Beacon Journal has found no evidence of outside the petition itself, argue it would be dangerous not to allow guns inside the venue. “This is a direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk,” he or she writes, citing the National Rifle Association’s belief that gun-free zones are “the worst and most dangerous of all lies.” Without people openly showing off their guns, N.A. argues, attendees will be vulnerable to a terrorist attack or even the people of Cleveland, a city “consistently ranked as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in America."
It's possible that the petition began as a prank, judging by the Twitter account allegedly run by the petition’s creator, who describes him or herself as “speaking truth to stupid.” Said troll seems to enjoy retweeting people who support the poll, if only to participate in the trolling itself:
But the argument underlying the petition is deadly serious for many conservatives, whether or not its creator meant to mock them. Republican lawmakers have routinely decried gun-free zones as a risk, especially in the wake of mass shootings at U.S. schools and universities. In Texas, a new gun law requires people with concealed handgun permits to begin taking their firearms with them to college beginning August 1. Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin also have laws on the books allowing concealed weapons on campus, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Donald Trump has often argued that the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last November could have been prevented or mitigated if the victims had been armed.
Asked Sunday on ABC’s This Week about allowing convention attendees to bring guns, Trump told host Jon Karl that while he hadn’t read the petition, “I want to see what it says [and] read the fine print” before making a statement.
“I’m a very, very strong person for Second Amendment. I think very few people are stronger. And I have to see the petition,” Trump, known for accidentally accepting support from Klan members and fascists, said.
Update (6:15 P.M.): The Secret Service said Monday that they will absolutely ban guns from the convention floor, since they have the “authority to preclude firearms from entering sites visited by our protectees, including those located in open-carry states.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/03/gun-petition-republican-convention?google_editors_picks=true
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.