The violence in Dallas last week is intensifying worries in Cleveland about visitors and protesters taking firearms downtown during the Republican National Convention, where thousands of people plan to demonstrate.
Ohio’s open-carry laws mean that those who legally own guns can take them into the 1.7-square-mile area where many of the events and protests connected to the Republican convention will be held next week. Beginning Sunday, protesters are expected to flood into the city, with causes ranging from white supremacy to Palestinian rights.
“Obviously, everybody is on edge after Dallas,” Brian Kazy, a member of the Cleveland City Council and its Safety Committee, said in an interview Sunday evening.
Mr. Kazy said he had never been concerned about Ohio’s open-carry laws. But then Micah Johnson, an African-American sniper said to be determined to murder white police officers, went on a rampage in Texas, which also has open-carry laws.
“If you had some mass confusion, even if you had a civilian who was carrying who would attempt to help out, I think the mentality of any law enforcement officer would see an individual with a gun, would see an individual possibly shoot and would react to that,” he said.
Cleveland officials are promising increased security during the Republican gathering, with resources from city, state and federal authorities. And within the convention area, the Secret Service will set up a smaller perimeter near the Quicken Loans Arena that will have stricter security and prohibit guns. Delegates to the convention, for example, will not be able to take their guns onto the convention floor.
However, given the recent tumult around the country, some leaders are anxious that the environment could turn dangerous. One group made up of current and former members of the military called the Oath Keepers, who have shown up at other tense events heavily armed, say they again plan to carry weapons into Cleveland.
Stephen Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, said he strongly supported citizens’ rights to bear arms, but he is urging people not to take their guns anywhere near Cleveland’s downtown during the convention.
“The last thing in the world we need is anybody walking around here with AR-15s strapped to their back,” he said. “And the absolute tragedy in Dallas is proof positive that we just cannot allow that to happen. I would really just beg these folks, just leave your guns at home. Come, say whatever it is that you want to say, make whatever point it is that you want to make, but it’s going to be very, very difficult to deal with the R.N.C. as it is.”
He added that officers were already in a “heightened state” because of the passions generated by the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, on both sides and the security challenges as thousands of delegates fill the city.
Eric Pucillo, the vice president of Ohio Carry, a gun rights group based in Kent, Ohio, said he understood Mr. Loomis’s concerns, but stressed that people could not be legally prevented from carrying their guns downtown.
Convention planners and city officials emphasize that they are prepared for the Republican gathering and the crowds it will attract.
The Cleveland police chief said Friday that after the Dallas shootings the city would be changing its security plans but did not go into detail. Dan Williams, a spokesman for Mayor Frank G. Jackson, also declined to describe how Dallas had reshaped the city’s security plans, or whether officials were concerned about the state’s gun laws.
“We are going to follow the law and the law is the law period,” Mr. Williams said. “We believe that we are prepared.”