Attendees won’t be allowed to bring guns to the Republican National Convention in July, the U.S. Secret Service said Monday, despite an online petition that has garnered more than 40,000 signatures.

The agency cited Title 18 of U.S. Code Sections 3056 and 1752 when asked by an ABC News affiliate in Cleveland on Monday whether attendees could bring guns to Quicken Loans Arena.

Those statutes give “the Secret Service authority to preclude firearms from entering sites visited by our protectees, including those located in open-carry states,” the agency said.

The Secret Service provides protection to presidential primary hopefuls according to criteria set up in law that any successful candidate would meet.

“Only authorized law enforcement personnel working in conjunction with the Secret Service for a particular event may carry a firearm inside of the protected site,” the agency said.

“The Secret Service works closely with our local law enforcement partners in each state to ensure a safe environment for our protectees and the public. 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 agency responded this week to a petition at Change.org, demanding that attendees be able to bring guns, which garnered more than 40,000 signatures in a matter of days.

According to authors of the petition, Quicken Loans Arena’s policy against guns “is a direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk.”

“Cleveland, Ohio is consistently ranked as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in America. 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,” reads a portion of their petition.

“This doesn’t even begin to factor in the possibility of an ISIS terrorist attack on the arena during the convention. Without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals or others who wish to threaten the American way of life.”

The petition is attributed to “The Hyperationalist.” Efforts to reach this mysterious entity by email Monday were not immediately successful.

Despite the petition’s success, however, some have questioned The Hyperationalist’s intentions, especially given the lack of information about the people involved as well as an associated Twitter account that is rife with tweets critical of Republican front-runner Donald Trump.