The question of suspending Ohio’s open carry gun law in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention came up long before three law enforcement officers were shot to death this weekend in Baton Rouge. Following that incident the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association asked Governor Kasich to suspend the law.
Kasich’s office responded that the governor does not have the authority to do that. On Monday, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said that same issue came up during RNC planning earlier this year.
“We basically had conversations among ourselves, the legal team assigned to that committee, then there’s a legal sub-committee that took up that question and took it to Columbus and either met or talked to the legal staff in Columbus. And the determination was made that the governor did not have the power to suspend that particular law.”
The issue over open carry grew last week after reports that New Black Panther Party members would open carry during the RNC to protect protesters. That followed the sniper attack that killed five officers in Dallas. Cleveland officials say there was a small open carry demonstration downtown Sunday that ended without incident.