Ahead of next week’s Republican Party national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, event organisers have released a list of all the things banned from the 4.4 square-kilometre event zone surrounding the Quicken Loans Arena. A total of 72 types of weapons, including tennis balls and lightbulbs, have been banned. Guns, however, are perfectly fine.

Given that the state of Ohio has open carry laws governing the use of firearms, Cleveland officials say their hands are tied. Gun owners with a licence are legally permitted to carry their guns around the external security perimeter.

According to CNN, as well as air rifles and pellet guns, the list of forbidden objects includes: pieces of lumber, fireworks, sound amplification equipment, drones, ornaments, tents, canned goods, hammocks, and ladders.

“Our intent is to follow the law. And if the law says you have open carry, that’s what it says. Whether I agree with it or not is another issue,” said Frank Jackson, Cleveland’s mayor, at a press conference.

“There are certain things that go along with open carry that that person has to do,” said Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams. “You can’t menace people, you can’t brandish your weapon.”

While state law means the firearms can be brought to the convention, US federal law does allow the US Secret Service to instigate a small ‘secure zone’ within the convention complex, where weapons of any kind will be expressly forbidden. This zone will include the arena in which Republican delegates from across all 50 states and Puerto Rico will gather to nominate Donald Trump as the party’s candidate for the presidential elections.

The controversial convention has already garnered headlines after a trans rights group revealed it had paid for Fox News to broadcast a 60-second advert during Donald Trump’s acceptance speech.

The full list of banned items from the ‘event zone’ can be read below:

1. Lumber larger than 2 inches in width and 1/4 of an inch thick, including supports for signs
2. Metal, plastic, or other hard material larger than 3/4 quarters thick and 1/8 of an inch in wall thickness including pipe and tubing
3. Air rifles
4. Air pistols
5. Paintball guns
6. Blasting caps
7. Switchblade knives
8. Automatic knives
9. Knives having a blade 2.5 inches in length or longer
10. Cestuses
11. Billy clubs
12. Blackjacks
13. Swords
14. Sabers
15. Hatchets
16. Axes
17. Slingshots
18. BB guns
19. Pellet guns
20. Wrist shots
21. Metal knuckles
22. Nun chucks
23. Mace
24. Iron buckles
25. Axe handles
26. Shovels
27. Fireworks
28. Rockets
29. Sound amplification equipment
30. Drones and other unmanned aircraft systems
31. Containers of bodily fluids
32. Aerosol cans
33. Pepper Spray and other chemical irritants
34. Umbrellas with metal tips
35. Water guns
36. Water cannons
37. Ropes in lengths greater than 6 feet
38. Chains in lengths greater than 6 feet
39. Cables in lengths greater than 6 feet
40. Strappings in lengths greater than 6 feet
41. Wires in lengths greater than 6 feet
42. Strings in lengths greater than 6 feet
43. Lines in lengths greater than 6 feet
44. Tapes in lengths greater than 6 feet
45. Glass bottles
46. Ornaments
47. Light bulbs
48. Ceramic vessels
49. Padlocks
50. Bicycle locking devices
51. Chain locks
52. Gas masks
53. Tents
54. Sleeping bags
55. Sleeping pads
56. Mattresses
57. Cots
58. Hammocks
59. Bivy sacks
60. Stoves
61. Coolers
62. Ice chests
63. Backpacks and bags exceeding the size of 18" x 13" x 7"
64. Lasers
65. Non-plastic containers, bottles, cans, or thermoses
66. Ladders
67. Grappling hooks
68. Sledgehammers
69. Hammers
70. Crowbars
71. Canned goods
72. Tennis balls

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