Republican convention was poised for disaster
If a single sentence could capture the madness that hit Cleveland and the Republican convention, it’s this: You can’t bring a water gun to demonstrate outside the Republican National Convention, but you can bring an AK-47; Ohio is an open-carry state.
Despite Cleveland’s temporary ban on items as innocuous as tennis balls and bicycle locks, Ohio law will allow demonstrators with radically different viewpoints to bring handguns and AR-15s as they encounter one another. On Sunday evening news, gun nuts armed to the teeth showed just how loony this is going to be.
A group of white nationalists and skinheads have said they’ll attend so they protect Donald Trump supporters. That’s on top of the array of anarchists, Oath Keepers militia and anti-abortion activists. Think this is made up? No way — this is how crazy the Republican Party has become.
And throw in the master of deception Trump with his lies that Hillary Clinton as president would take your guns away, you’ve got a powder keg set to explode. Enjoy your convention.
Ron Lowe, Nevada City
This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Republican convention was poised for disaster."