Ohio Governor Rejects Cleveland Police Request To Ban Open Carry At RNC

The head of one of Cleveland’s largest police unions wants OH governor John Kasich to suspend the state’s open carry gun laws during this week’s Republican National Convention.

However, the host state Republican replied that he lacked the authority, even on an emergency basis, to suspend state and federal laws and ban guns from downtown Cleveland.

The president of Cleveland’s police union Stephen Loomis told CNN that “We are sending a letter to Gov. Kasich requesting assistance from him”.

Swarmed by reporters, Thacker joked about the fact that he was the only person to show up with a firearm – even though Ohio’s open-carry laws mean anyone can carry a gun in the RNC event zone.

He added that the bonds between communities and police must be reset and rebuilt. “Everyone has an important role to play in that renewal”, she said.

OH allows licensed firearm owners to wear holstered firearms in public except in “secure zone” areas around the RNC Convention site at Quicken Loans Arena.

“Anybody that has an open-carry gun, we are going to look at and we are going to look at them very, very hard”, Loomis said.

The Republican National Convention begins on Monday with law enforcement and security professionals throughout the country holding their breath.

In a video posted to his official Twitter account Sunday afternoon, Kasich said he’d just spoken with the Ohio Highway Patrol to tell them how much their service is appreciated when he learned of the shootings in Baton Rouge that killed three police officers and wounded three others. I couldn’t care less if it’s legal or not.

Over 10,000 protesters from various groups such as “America First”, a pro-Trump group, Black Lives Matter, and other groups will have a presence in Cleveland.

He acknowledged Ohio’s open-carry gun law in assuring his force is committed to public safety, and said scenarios like the recent slayings of five Dallas police officers had already been included in police preparations.

The Cleveland Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We’re going to be doing things differently (after today’s attack)”, Loomis said. “I feel strongly that leadership needs to stand up and defend these police officers”. Or partner. That is absolute insanity to me.

“We’ll be praying here to continue to have a safe week in here”.

One bystander, Hyacinth Raven, who lives downtown, told VICE News that “open carry isn’t something new for OH”, and that she was concerned about outsiders causing trouble during the RNC.