Carrying a bicycle lock, tennis ball or a piece of tape or string longer than 15 centimetres could get you in hot water in Cleveland this week.
The US city is hosting the National Republican Convention which kicks off on Monday and is ramping up security in the area surrounding the convention centre.
As a result, a host of seemingly innocuous household items have made their way onto an exhaustive list of banned goods that will not be allowed in “public access areas” within the event zone or in the convention itself.
The list of banned items includes canned food, umbrellas with a metal tip, thermoses, pieces of wood wider than two inches, lazers, light bulbs, eskies and ornaments.
Knives, axes, nun chucks, swords, paintball, air and BB guns are also banned.
But while police checks will aim to ensure these items won’t be posing much of a threat to civilians, people will still be welcome to enter the area with an assault rifle around their shoulder or pistol strapped to their hip.
However, firearms of all sorts will be banned within the convention complex along with other seemingly harmless items, including whole fruit, unopened envelopes, selfie sticks and signs or banners.
It’s all thanks to the state of Ohio’s “open carry” gun laws that allow licensed firearm owners to openly carry weapons.
Federal US law permits the open carrying of firearms, but some states including California, New York, Washington and Florida have state-imposed restrictions or outright prohibitions in place.
In the wake of the shooting deaths of two police officers in the Louisiana city of Baton Rouge at the weekend – which follows the recent murder of five officers in Dallas – the head of the Cleveland Police Association Steve Loomis called for the temporary suspension of open carry laws.
“Anybody that has an open-carry gun, we are going to look at and we are going to look at them very, very hard," Mr Loomis told Fox News on Sunday.
"Somebody's gotta do something. What we have now is completely irresponsible.”
The man he’s looking to for answers is Ohio Governor John Kasich, but in a statement Mr Kasich’s office said, “Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested”.
“The bonds between our communities and police must be reset and rebuilt - as we're doing in Ohio - so our communities and officers can both be safe," the statement said.
"Everyone has an important role to play in that renewal."
On Sunday, an armed man walked the streets of Cleveland in support of open carry and their constitutional right to bear arms.
The convention's "event zone" is marked by the grey line Source: Ohio police
The list includes:
- Any air rifle, air pistol, paintball gun, blasting caps, switchblade or automatic knife, knife having a blade two and one-half (2-1/2) inches in length or longer
- Any explosives, explosive device, or incendiary device
- Fireworks and rockets
- Sound amplification equipment
- Drones and other unmanned aircraft systems
- Containers of bodily fluids
- Aerosol cans
- Mace, pepper spray or other chemical irritant
- Umbrellas with metal tips
- Any projectile launchers, such as water guns and water cannons
- Grappling hooks, sledgehammers, hammers, and crowbars
- Canned goods
- Tennis balls
- Any other item determined by the Chief or Director to be a clear and present danger to the safety of others.
