Story highlights A petition to allow guns inside the Republican National Convention in Cleveland has more than 22,000 signatures

The petition's author asks the three remaining GOP candidates to push for the change

Washington (CNN) A petition to allow firearms inside the Republican National Convention in Cleveland has collected more than 22,000 signatures as of Saturday afternoon.

"Though Ohio is an open carry state, which allows for the open carry of guns, the hosting venue — the Quicken Loans Arena — strictly forbids the carry of firearms on their premises," the petition says

The petition's author, who is identified as "N A," asks the three remaining GOP candidates to ask the Republican National Committee to advocate for changes to this policy.

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"In order to ensure the safety of your supporters, delegates and all attendees at the convention in July, you must call upon the RNC to rectify this affront to our Second Amendment freedoms and insist upon a suspension of the Quicken Loans Arena's unconstitutional 'gun-free zone' loophole," the petition reads.

The petition says Cleveland is a violent city and cites the threat of terrorism and all three Republican candidates' opposition to gun-free zones as reasons why attendees should be allowed to carry inside the arena.

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