CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland city officials and the Secret Service confirmed to reporters Wednesday that anyone with a permit to carry a gun will not be allowed to bring his or her firearm inside the Quicken Loans Arena during the Republican National Convention.
An individual with a permit can, however, legally carry his or her firearm downtown outside the convention perimeter.
Ohio is an open-carry state, which mean anyone who legally owns firearms can take them to places except security zones, where events and protests associated with the convention are likely to occur.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson along with Williams stressed that they must follow the open carry laws of the state and the RNC Convention is not the first event where law enforcement dealt with law abiding open carry individuals in their city.
“We have tactics and policies in place that deal with that. I’m not going to get into specifics but we’ve talked about of course since Dallas and other things have happened how we better that,” said Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams. “There are certain things that go along with open carry that that person has to do. [For example] you can’t menace people, you can’t brandish your weapon.”
He went on to say, “There are certain things that go along with open carry that that person has to do. [For example] you can’t menace people, you can’t brandish your weapon,” adding, “Everything outside the security zone is an open area. If you see something suspicious let us know and we’ll check it out.”