Sorry, but There Will Be No Guns Allowed at RNC

Bad news for petitioners who wanted guns allowed at the Republican National Convention: The Secret Service says it's not gonna happen. More than 45,000 people have signed the petition, which states that "by forcing attendees to leave their firearms at home, the RNC and Quicken Loans Arena are putting tens of thousands of people at risk both inside and outside of the convention site." (Though Ohio is an open-carry state, Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, where the convention will be held, bans weapons.) But, in a statement, a Secret Service spokesperson says "only authorized law enforcement personnel" will be allowed to carry guns, the Hill reports.

"Individuals determined to be carrying firearms will not be allowed past a predetermined outer perimeter checkpoint, regardless of whether they possess a ticket to the event," the spokesperson says, citing federal laws allowing the Secret Service to prohibit guns from being taken into venues where "protectees" are present, even if those venues happen to be in open-carry states. Some aren't sure the petition's anonymous author was ever serious: CNET says it must be "fine satirical commentary," noting that a Twitter account apparently linked to the petition's author has tweeted anti-Trump messages in the past. (More Republican National Convention stories.)