Cleveland, OHIO-- The Republican National Convention gets underway in Cleveland Monday afternoon.
After Sunday's Police shooting in Louisiana, there's a big focus on security.
50,000 people are expected to attend the convention, including 5,000 delegates.
There's an atmosphere of heightened tensions with last week's attack on France and the weekend killings of three police officers in Louisiana.
Security is stiff. Nearly four miles of steel fencing surrounds the convention site. Checkpoints are at major intersections and thousands of local police and federal agents are on the scene in cars, on foot and on horseback.
Cleveland's Police Union wants Governor Kasich to temporarily suspend Ohio's open carry gun law in the downtown to protect more than 5,000 officers. Kasich says he can't.
"It makes sense. It's common sense. We're not trying to take away anyone's rights," said Steve Loomis with the Cleveland Police Union.
"We're not going to tolerate violence of any kind," said Chief Calvin Williams of the Cleveland Police Department.
Billboards are up around Cleveland's downtown urging vigilance and promoting a hotline to report tips of suspicious behavior. The convention's theme is "Make America Safe Again."
