The Republican presidential debate was made into a “gun free” zone, much to the dismay of staunch pro-gun conservatives, reported Salon. Several of the candidates have taken pro-gun stances, but the “gun free” policy at the debate last night proves that preaching the Second Amendment is just a tactic to win votes.

Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena has a firm no-gun policy that also applies to people with concealed carry permits. It’s too dangerous to allow firearms inside of a large venue that holds thousands of people. When a representative of St. Anselm College was asked whether guns would be allowed during its hosting of the GOP debate next February, the representative said “absolutely not.”

Salon compiled some of the candidates’ positions on guns, exposing GOP hypocrisy:

  • As Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush passed the “Stand Your Ground” laws that played a role in the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis in 2012.
  • Donald Trump has advocated an end to “gun-free” zones, though his own hotels and golf courses have a different policy.
  • Ted Cruz — who recently released a video of himself proudly cooking bacon by wrapping it around the barrel of a machine gun — has advocated for soldiers to be able to carry concealed weapons on military bases; at least until he was rebuffed by John McCain and military leaders who informed him such a plan would bring greater danger to soldiers.
  • After 20 students and six school employees were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, as New York and Connecticut legislators approved stricter gun control legislation, Rick Perry actively sought to recruit gun manufacturers from those states to come to Texas.
  • Scott Walker approved concealed carry for Wisconsin in 2011, and also passed a law allowing homeowner to shoot anyone unlawfully inside their home, whether or not the individual was armed. The bill was opposed by “a state group representing more than 600 criminal defense lawyers, prosecutors, judges and academics,” according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
  • Chris Christie is the one hold-out of the group. Christie opposes concealed weapons permits and called opponents of an assault weapons ban “crazy.”

Republicans, whether they admit it or not, aren’t so willing to allow the open-carry of firearms in an area they occupy. They won’t for debates, on government grounds, or even, in Trump’s case, their own businesses.