…while the Second Amendment guarantees Americans the right to carry guns, federal law also gives the Secret Service the right to keep gun-toting folks away from the President.

“These individuals were not ticketed for the events and were not waiting to go inside,” says Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan. “They weren’t in positions outside the events that we considered a threat to the event in any way.”

While protesters in certain states may have the right to carry weapons to spots near presidential visits — and the Secret Service may blanket the President with protection — Petro says the guns’ presence changes the atmosphere surrounding such events. “They’re intimidating people like it’s a western saloon,” he says. And the weapons could turn a verbal clash between demonstrators into a shootout. “In a heated atmosphere,” Petro argues, “it’s a recipe for disaster.”