In anticipation of a week of chaos, the Cleveland Police Department is asking the Governor of Ohio for permission to suspend the state’s open carry laws during the Republican National Convention.
“We are sending a letter to Gov. Kasich requesting assistance from him. He could very easily do some kind of executive order or something — I don’t care if it’s constitutional or not at this point,” Stephen Loomis, president of Cleveland’s police union, told CNN.
“They can fight about it after the RNC or they can lift it after the RNC, but I want him to absolutely outlaw open-carry in Cuyahoga County until this RNC is over,” he concluded.
The RNC is expected to attract thousands of protesters, and Black Lives Matter has refused to accede to regulations imposed on protesters by the City of Cleveland, meaning they’re likely to clash with a contingent of neo-Nazis who will be demonstrating at the RNC in support of Donald Trump. As Cleveland is home to Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African American child who was killed by a police officer who was not indicted for the shooting, Black Lives Matter protesters from Cleveland and the surrounding areas are expected to show up en masse at the convention this week.
In 2012, Governor John Kasich signed a bill into law that made it easier for Ohio residents to carry concealed firearms, opened up the concealed carry law to allow drivers to carry firearms in their vehicles, and streamlined the process for firearm registration. And in 2014, Kasich signed another bill into law allowing hunters to equip their weapons with suppressors. And as an open-carry state, Ohio residents are allowed to carry weapons openly without needing a license.
On the eve of the RNC, demonstrators were seen open carrying assault rifles in downtown Cleveland, within 40 feet of a public park where children were playing.
Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/lxwockvvjo
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) July 17, 2016
These photos were taken 40 feet away from each other #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/cnH1pBcqvM
— Alexander Trowbridge (@AlexanderTrow) July 17, 2016
The Republican National Convention will take place in the Quicken Loans Arena and run from Monday to Thursday, July 18-21.
Tom Cahill is a writer for US Uncut based in the Pacific Northwes.t He specializes in coverage of political, economic, and environmental news. You can contact him via email at tom.v.cahill@gmail.com.
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