That's the Ticket

Anyone venturing into a 3.3-square-mile “event zone” surrounding next month’s Republican National Convention will be prohibited from carrying tennis balls, tape, rope, bike locks, sleeping bags, or any object they could stand on to rise above the crowd and speak. They won’t be allowed to carry swords or water guns. But if they have a license, they’ll be permitted to openly carry real guns, including assault weapons.

[...]

Anyone venturing into a 3.3-square-mile “event zone” surrounding next month’s Republican National Convention will be prohibited from carrying tennis balls, tape, rope, bike locks, sleeping bags, or any object they could stand on to rise above the crowd and speak. They won’t be allowed to carry swords or water guns. But if they have a license, they’ll be permitted to openly carry real guns, including assault weapons.

[...]

Protesters fear they will be effectively silenced by the isolation, but also worry about the close scheduling of groups on polar opposites of the political spectrum. For instance, members of the radical leftist Revolution Books are set to share one of two small gathering places with Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-gay hate group best known for picketing high-profile funerals. “As you can imagine,” Link said, “these groups are not going to be very friendly to each other.”

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The convention center itself is under the control of the Secret Service, which has imposed a separate set of restrictions, including a ban on weapons. An online petition to allow licensed owners to carry guns inside the convention center gathered nearly 55,000 signatures before it was revealed that it was set up as a parody by a gun-control advocate.

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Cleveland’s Division of Police referred all convention-related questions to the mayor’s office, which did not respond to requests for comment.

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Cleveland also paid $1.5 million to an insurance broker to secure a $10 million policy for liabilities relating to the convention.

  The Interept

At least somebody was thinking of the consequences.

And while we're on the subject, the photo that accompanies this article is pretty much the open carry scenario that concerns me. Say you're walking along in Wal-Mart carrying your purchases or guiding your cart and a murderous whacko walks up and relieves you of your weapon. Now what?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 6/25:  A federal judge has overturned Cleveland's restrictions.