Michael Cottman: GOP and GUNS: Who Are They Afraid Of?

Republicans are hoping to bring more than patriotic posters and American flags into the Republican National Convention: They want to tote guns, too.

In an online petition, more than 50,000 conservatives are leading a campaign to allow guns at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.

The reason: Conservatives claim they will be “sitting ducks” in the Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the convention, if Republican attendees aren’t carrying guns.

Sitting ducks? Seriously?

“Cleveland, Ohio is consistently ranked as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in America,” the petition states. “By forcing attendees to leave their firearms at home, the RNC and Quicken Loans Arena are putting tens of thousands of people at risk both inside and outside of the convention site.”

This is complete lunacy. Are Republicans expecting mobs of Cleveland residents to kick down doors and start shooting up the arena in the middle of a floor fight to pick the Republican nominee for president?

I doubt it.

The petition, which started last week, said the arena’s no-gun policy is “a direct affront to the Second Amendment” and “puts all attendees at risk.”

So who exactly are Republicans afraid of? Who are the Cleveland residents who Republicans feel would harm them? Cleveland is a predominantly African-American city (53%) so are Republicans afraid of black people? And if Cleveland is so dangerous, why did Republican leaders select Cleveland to host their national convention?

These Republican alarmists are becoming more dangerous by the day and could cause a shoot-out if guns were allowed at the convention. It only takes one irresponsible hot-head to fire a shot that could result in chaos. Even though Ohio is an open carry state, the Quicken Loans Arena, thankfully, does not allow guns.

And fortunately, those who want to tote guns at the convention won’t get their way. The U.S. Secret Service, according to Reuters, will not allow people to carry guns into RNC.

“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.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, has fanned the flames saying, “There could very well be riots” in Cleveland if GOP leaders deny him the presidential nomination.

Trump has already whipped his electorate into a racial frenzy. He’s called Mexicans “rapists,” falsely claiming that all Muslims “hate” Americans, vowing to build a wall to keep immigrants out of the United States, but allowing “the good ones” to stay. His speeches have led to white supremacist groups, like the KKK, reportedly using Trump’s image to recruit members to their racist organizations.

Last year, a black man was kicked, punched and called the N-word by whites at a Trump rally in Alabama and last week, a group of African-American students from Valdosta State University in Georgia were abruptly herded out of a Trump rally while some of the students angrily complained that racial epithets were hurled at them by whites attending the rally.

Trump and fanatical conservatives have created an unwarranted climate of fear and hate in America that has resulted in 50,000 zealous Republicans demanding to carry guns into an open arena.

It’s a dangerous precedent based on paranoia and false fears.

What do you think?

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GOP and GUNS: Who Are They Afraid Of? was originally published on blackamericaweb.com