The Register's editorial

Gun rights advocates want weapons to be allowed at the Republican National Convention in Ohio this summer. By Monday night, nearly 50,000 people had signed an online petition advocating the open carry of firearms at the gathering. Political party officials have been in the awkward position of trying to decide how to respond. This is the party that loves their guns, after all.

So Republican leaders likely breathed a sigh of relief this week when the Secret Service made the decision for them. Citing its legal authority to ban weapons at events attended by those it protects, the agency spokesperson said any unauthorized person with a gun will not be admitted.

Why isn't the Republican establishment publicly challenging this decision? When have they ever so easily left their Second Amendment rights at any door, let alone one to their own convention? If there is a place where toting guns should be welcome, it’s the Republican convention. The party supports the "fundamental right to self-defense wherever a law-abiding citizen has a legal right to be," according to its 2012 platform. There is no exception in the document for political functions.

And Republican presidential candidates should be, well, up in arms, too. It is hard to believe Sen. Ted Cruz could possibly feel safe at a convention that will essentially be a gun-free zone. During a December visit to Iowa, Cruzsuggested such restrictions on weapons actually attract killers.

“Has anyone in this room noticed shooting after shooting after shooting happens in so-called gun-free zones?” he asked at a campaign rally in Johnston. For a “lunatic,” there is nothing better than having a “bunch of targets” who you know are unarmed, he said.

Perhaps Cruz has faith the convention will be a lunatic-free zone. He deferred to the Secret Service on this issue. That agency “is going to have the principal decision-making concerning security,” he said. Of course, the Secret Service’s position on this is common knowledge. It banned weapons at his party’s last nominating convention in Tampa.

Front-runner Donald Trump avoided taking a position, too, saying he had yet to review the “fine print” of the petition.

Actually, there isn’t any fine print. The petition, posted on Change.org, is short and straightforward. It states the gun ban at the arena where the convention will be hosted is “a direct affront” to people’s rights and puts all attendees at risk. “Every American is endowed with a God-given Constitutional right to carry a gun wherever and whenever they please.” The petition also calls on John Kasich, Ohio’s governor and a presidential candidate, to use his executive authority to “override the ‘gun-free zone’ loophole being exploited” by the arena.

Kasich has done no such thing. What the Secret Service decides is "all that matters," he said.

These candidates do not sound like the same politicians who never waver in their dedication to the rights of gun owners. They insist that communities, malls, restaurants and everywhere else is “safer” when people are armed. Why not a gathering of their own supporters?