Watching it from the outside, US politics is fascinating, terrifying and hilarious. Usually all at the same time.

When the Republican party gathers to decide which moral vacuum they’re going to put forward to run for President, they’ll be gathered at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The arena management, sensibly, have a policy saying no guns or weapons are allowed inside. A number of gun nut Republicans have taken offnce at this, and started a petition to have the venue’s right to declare itself a gun free zone overturned.

It’s unlikely (I hope) that they’ll get their way. But if they do, I don’t see how it could end well. There wouldn’t even have to be an argument that escalates to shooting for things to go horribly wrong. All it would take would be one accidental discharge, and a stadium full of paranoid people primed by rhetoric about high crime rates and terrorists would have their guns out. One shot becomes another, becomes a fusillade.

And then, probably before they’ve even got all the bodies to the morgue, the surviving attendees would be making statements about how gun deaths shouldn’t be politicised and announcing that they’ll be praying for the victims.

Source: Petition · Quicken Loans Arena: Allow Open Carry of Firearms at the Quicken Loans Arena during the RNC Convention in July. · Change.org