NRA makes us crazy

City officials in Tampa, FL are worried.   Those in Charlottee, NC apparently not so much . . . yet.

Both cities -- the hosts for the Republican and Democratic national conventions this summer -- are in states that allow concealed weapons, and their laws prohibit local governments from interfering with those rights, even for temporary situations like this.  This means, if nothing is done to counter it, that protesters in this politically charged environment will be able to carry guns right up to the entrances to the convention centers where the nominating festivities will occur.

The Secret Service can ban civilians from carrying weapons inside the convention arenas, and they will require people to pass through metal detectors in order to get in (as they usually do at such events that involve people they are charged with protecting, like presidents or presidential candidates).   But they cannot control what happens on the streets outside.

The Tampa city council wants to ask Republican Gov. Rick Scott to issue an executive order that will allow them to temporarily ban concealed weapons.    The Tampa mayor has said that the gun law makes the city look silly, because it can ban water guns but not real guns that shoot bullets and kill people.

In recent years, these political conventions have drawn sometimes unruly protesters, and there have frequently been clashes with the police in the streets.   Remember the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago when anti-Viet Nam war demonstrations turned violent.  Four years ago at the Republican convention in St. Paul, MN demonstrators smashed cars and threw bottles at police.  Hundreds of people were arrested.

Now in Florida and North Carolina, unless something changes, demonstrators (with carry permits) are legally entitled to be fully armed.    Charlotte has already adopted certain measures that they can do, short of banning weapons.   They have given police more power to search people and have banned backpacks and certain other items in designated protest areas.  But this is aimed at the Occupy type protesters.

What about the real crazies or the true assassins?

We have the NRA to thank for this.

Ralph