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The Secret
Service said on Monday it has the authority to preclude guns
from sites visited by the people it protects such as U.S.
presidential candidates, presidents and former presidents.
"Only authorized law enforcement personnel working in
conjunction with the Secret Service for a particular event may
carry a firearm inside of the protected site," agency spokesman
Robert Hoback said in a statement.
"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," he
said.
A petition on change.org called for firearms to be allowed into
the Quicken Loans Arena during the convention in Ohio, a state
that allows guns to be carried openly in public. It had drawn
45,811 supporters by Monday afternoon.
The arena's rules forbid firearms or other weapons, which the
petition says is a "direct affront" to the U.S. Constitution's
Second Amendment right to bear arms. It called Cleveland one of
the most dangerous U.S. cities.
"With this irresponsible and hypocritical act of selecting a
'gun-free zone' for the convention, the RNC has placed its
members, delegates, candidates and all U.S. citizens in grave
danger," it said.
The petition called for five actions to enable gun owners to
carry their weapons into the venue. One of those recommendations
was for Ohio Governor John Kasich, a Republican presidential
candidate, to use his executive authority to override the
arena's decision to be a "gun-free zone."
But Rob Nichols, a spokesman for the Kasich campaign, said the
Secret Service had made its decision.
"At this point the Secret Service has already weighed in and
whoever is the force behind this petition probably should have
gone to the Secret Service from the get-go," he said.
The Republican convention may be contested if front-runner
Donald Trump does not receive enough delegates to clinch his
party's nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Trump's rallies have been punctuated by protesters, and
sometimes clashes. He has warned there would be "riots" if he is
denied the nomination.
(Additional reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by David Gregorio)
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