Head of Cleveland police union asks Kasich to suspend open carry laws during RNC

An elephant decorated for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
(Image credit: Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images)

The head of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association said Sunday that open carry laws should be suspended in the city during the Republican National Convention.

Steven Loomis cited Sunday morning's shooting in Baton Rouge that left three police officers dead, but has previously been critical of open carry during the RNC. "This is not an attack on the Second Amendment," he told NBC News. "This is not an attack on the right to open carry. We believe it is a reasonable request to protect the safety of our folks."

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) released a statement Sunday saying the governor does not have the power to "arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws." There will be one area where guns are banned — in a "secure zone" near the Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the convention, that is overseen by the Secret Service.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.