Those rascally Democrats! The author of the petition calling for the open carry of guns at the Cleveland RNC is a lefty blogger named “Jim,” according to CBS.

Jim is a self-described liberal Democrat who intends to vote for Hillary Clinton should she become the Democratic nominee. He isn’t affiliated with a campaign or any advocacy group, but did some volunteer work on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Jim is no fan of guns and he’s “pretty passionate” about his activism, he says.

The purpose of the petition was to expose a perceived “hypocrisy” on the right.

Jim says he wrote the petition knowing it was somewhat preposterous — that law enforcement would never allow the Republican presidential candidates inside an arena with potentially thousands of armed individuals. “There were never going to be guns at the convention. Not a million signatures were going to make that happen,” Jim said. But he also knew that if the Republican candidates sincerely meant what they have been saying about expanding Second Amendment rights, it would logically follow that they should support a move to allow firearms at the convention. “If they can’t live in accordance with the policies they impose upon us, they owe us that rational conversation,” Jim said.

Well, Jim, if you knew law enforcement wouldn’t allow guns at an event where they were protecting the lives of presidential candidates, what was the point of your exercise?

I’ve been to a fair amount of large events where people are armed, like the NRA convention, and nary a problem erupted. On the contrary, the NRA convention is probably the safest place in America. Also you don’t see many active-shooter situations at a gun range or the police station.

In addition to respect for the Second Amendment, gun owners respect private property rights. That’s why we fight so strongly for our ability to protect our own. If the Quicken Arena wants to ban guns from their property, that’s their right. If I have a problem with that, I just won’t go there.

One point our leftist muppet friend makes is worth noting: “I don’t want them to have a terrible event happen [at the convention] and then say if it hadn’t been a gun-free zone, fewer people would have died.”

Who knows what sorts of shenanigans are planned for outside the convention. We all know that the progressives are planning “riots full of tolerance” around the conventions and the gun ban does leave attendees at a tactical disadvantage. I hope law enforcement is ready for that.