The Republican Gun Convention

   Within the Event Zone of the Republican National Convention:

    Imagine that our country were in the grip of an Ebola epidemic that was killing close to 100 people and debilitating three times that many every day.   Under these circumstances can you imagine  the government allowing a group of  Ebola carriers to congregate in a crowded area of a major American city during a time when that city was expecting an influx of over 50,000 visitors?   Can you imagine  the state's  governor shrugging off the pleas of the city's police, hospitals  and the citizenry with the excuse that he had no power to order people carrying Ebola to stay out of the area because those people have a Constitutional right to freedom of assembly under the First Amendment? 
      Our country is in the grip of a gruesome epidemic of gun violence which kills close to 100 people  and wounds almost 300 more every day.  It's been only a little over a month ago since 49 people were gunned down in Orlando and within the past week-and-a-half five police officers have been murdered with guns.  Americans are on edge and live in fear of being shot in a public place by a psychopath with an assault rifle.
           And yet when gun-lovers and militant groups vowed that they'd show up in Cleveland for  the Republican National Convention toting their hand guns, rifles, and assault weapons to exercise their rights under the Second Amendment  and Ohio's open carry law,  Ohio Governor John Kasich refused the pleas of law enforcement officials  to give an executive order, declare a state of emergency, do something  to ban guns within the Event Zone surrounding the Convention site.
         However, for the safety of the public, toy guns are forbidden in the Event Zone, as are light bulbs , tennis balls, canned goods, back packs, pieces of lumber, and a few other random items.    

     But assault weapons that shoot 300 rounds per minute are permitted and have shown up.

      So here we have a 1.7 square mile area of downtown Cleveland  packed with tens of thousands of people; there are angry protestors for and against Donald Trump and emotions are running high.  Guns serve one purpose:  to shoot people.  Is it possible that, from among however many gun-toting activists show up for the Convention, not one  will feel compelled to put his weapon to its use?
        Maybe it is possible.  Maybe nobody will shoot after all. 
      ​  However one can't help but wonder how much of a temptation a crowd of thousands through which one can freely walk wielding an assault rifle would be for  one of the too many  deranged suicidal human beings who've made our country the mass-murder capital of the world.

     Such an individual would merely have to fire the first shot and leave it to the good guys with guns among the crowd to finish the job.
       A couple of years ago when American Ebola fighters returned home from Africa after risking their lives to stop a deadly plague they were ordered by law  enforcement officials to stay away from  public places even though they carried no danger to their fellow citizens. 
      But  carriers of guns, who've been killing Americans at an epidemic rate, are free to congregate and roam in a crowd that could that could turn volatile in a heartbeat.
      It doesn't take a psychic to predict that there will be another mass shooting in this country, and soon.  Let's just pray it doesn't take place in Cleveland between now and Friday.

References:

https://www.quora.com/How-many-rounds-does-a-semi-automatic-rifle-fire-per-minute

http://www.bradycampaign.org/key-gun-violence-statistics

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2842638/RNC-Official-Event-Zone-Permit-Regulations.pdf

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/14/politics/cleveland-convention-guns-event-zone/

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/07/republican-national-convention-open-carry

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/07/17/3799163/cleveland-police-ask-emergency-suspension-open-carry-laws-republican-convention/