CLEVELAND – The broad “event zone” for July’s Republican National Convention will prohibit people from carrying fake guns, or weapons that are similar to real guns.
But real guns themselves? They’ll be allowed.
This week, the City of Cleveland and the Secret Service released a comprehensive list of items that will be banned from a broad area that stretches east to Cleveland State University, north to Burke Lakefront Airport, and west across the Cuyahoga River to West 25th Street.
- Here is a complete list of prohibited items:
- (1) Lumber larger than 2” in width and ¼” thick, including supports
for signs; - (2) Metal, plastic, or other hard material larger than ¾” thick and
1/8” in wall thickness including pipe and tubing; - (3) Any air rifle, air pistol, paintball gun, blasting caps, switchblade
or automatic knife, knife having a blade two and one-half (2-1/2) inches in
length or longer, cestus, billy, blackjack, sword, saber, hatchet, axe, slingshot,
BB gun, pellet gun, wrist shot, blackjack, metal knuckles, nunchucks, mace,
iron buckle, axe handle, shovel, or other instrumentality used to cause
property or personal damage; - (4) Any dangerous ordinance, weapon, or firearm that is prohibited
by the laws of the State of Ohio; - (5) Any explosives, explosive device, or incendiary device;
- (6) Fireworks and rockets;
- (7) Sound Amplification Equipment;
- (8) Drones and other unmanned aircraft systems;
- (9) Containers of bodily fluids;
- (10) Aerosol cans;
- (11) Mace, Pepper Spray or other chemical irritant;
- (12) Umbrellas with metal tips;
- (13) Any projectile launchers, such as water guns and water cannons;
- (14) Rope, chain, cable, strapping, wire, string, line, tape, or any
similar material, in lengths greater than 6’; - (15) Glass bottles, ornaments, light bulbs, ceramic vessels, and any
other frangible container, regardless of whether the container holds any
substance; - (16) Locks including, without limitation, padlocks, bicycle locking
devices, chain locks or similar devices, but not including: (i) an integral
component of a conveyance or structure; (ii) locks when utilized by the owner
of private real property to secure permanent or temporary fencing; or (iii)
locks attached to a bicycle; - (17) Any gas mask or similar device designed to filter all air breathed
by the wearer in an attempt to protect the respiratory tract and/or face
against irritating or noxious gasses or other materials. This prohibition on
gas masks shall not apply to any person wearing a medical oxygen mask that
fits over the nose and mouth of the person and provides oxygen from an
oxygen tank to the person; - (18) Tents and other shelters, sleeping bags, sleeping pads,
mattresses, cots, hammocks, bivy sacks, or stoves; - (19) Coolers or ice chests;
- (20) Backpacks and bags exceeding the size of 18” x 13” x 7”;
- (21) Lasers;
- (22) Non-plastic containers, bottles, cans, or thermoses;
- (23) Ladders;
- (24) Grappling hooks, sledgehammers, hammers, and crowbars;
- (25) Canned goods;
- (26) Tennis balls; and
- (27) Any other item determined by the Chief or Director to be a clear
and present danger to the safety of others.
That list is basically meant to stop items from being brought into the area. There are exceptions for people who live and work inside the zone.
The city can’t control real guns because they are regulated by state law.
“Purely up to the state,” says Rick Horvath, the city’s Chief Corporate Counsel, “we have no control over that.”
When contacted today, the Attorney General’s office says there won’t be any changes to state laws since the Legislature is now out of session.
So people who can legally carry a firearm will be able to do so inside the event zone, although everyone, including gun owners, will be banned from carrying such items as air soft pistols or pellet guns.
What about the tighter security zone that will be set up closer to the Q where the convention will be held?
“The Republican National Convention was designated a National Special Security Event by the Secretary of Homeland Security,” says Ron Rowe, the Secret Service Agent-in-Charge for the RNC.
That means state law will not control close to the Q for the convention, and the Secret Service has said guns will not be allowed inside the security zone.
Continuing coverage on the RNC.
