I worry about what might happen at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.
I worry for a lot of reasons. Donald Trump is one; Ted Cruz is another. But I worry as well because thanks to the Secret Service, the Quicken Loans Arena where the convention will be held is going to be a gun-free zone. According to a petition filed at Change.org, that makes the 50,000 delegates, media personnel and other attendees deeply vulnerable. As the anonymous author describes the stakes:
“This is a direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk. As the National Rifle Association has made clear, ‘gun-free zones’ such as the Quicken Loans Arena are ‘the worst and most dangerous of all lies.’ The NRA, our leading defender of gun rights, has also correctly pointed out that ‘gun-free zones’ … tell every insane killer in America … (the) safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk. …
“This doesn’t even begin to factor in the possibility of an ISIS terrorist attack on the arena during the convention. Without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals or others who wish to threaten the American way of life.”
The petition goes on to quote GOP presidential candidates about the terrible dangers created by gun-free zones, or as Trump describes such areas, “bait.” As Ted Cruz warns, “if you’re a lunatic, ain’t nothing better then having a bunch of targets you know that are going to be unarmed.” That’s important, because there’s every reason to believe that lunatics will be in attendance at that event.
As of Tuesday, more than 50,000 concerned, patriotic Americans had signed the petition in favor of allowing firearms at the convention. They clearly believe that if something goes down in Cleveland — for example, if riots break out on the convention floor, as Trump has suggested — it would be folly to deny convention attendees their constitutional right to self-defense.
Nonetheless, in direct contradiction to the Second Amendment, the Secret Service has decreed that only the government will be allowed to have guns at the convention, and that private citizens who exercise their rights by bringing firearms into the facility will be arrested. Even Trump himself — a concealed-weapons permit holder — would be denied the right to a weapon, and if a mild-mannered, even-tempered man like that can be denied a weapon, how can we possibly make this country great again?
Now, I’m no Alex Jones or Glenn Beck, with their uncanny ability to detect conspiracies that the less prescient of us can’t see, but doesn’t that start your spidey-sense a-tingling? Think of it this way: If you were Barack Hussein Obama, and if you wanted to overthrow the Constitution and name yourself dictator, what better scheme than to lure the nation’s top conservatives to one place, then make sure that they are disarmed so they could be safely rounded up?
I’m not saying that’s what he’s planning. I’m just asking the question ….
Besides, if guns are a safety enhancement on college campuses, as Georgia Republicans insist, then surely the Republicans going to Cleveland to choose between Trump and Cruz deserve that same degree of safety.
Right?
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