Opinion

“Sir! Put the gun on the ground, please,” the deputy issues a loud order to a citizen open carrying a rifle on a neighborhood street in a TikTok video now making the rounds on X.

“It’s legal,” the Maryland gun owner protests, only to be ordered in no uncertain terms to do as he’s told. A conversation after frisking for other weapons ensues in which the gun owner tries to explain that the state attorney general agrees with him, that “if you don’t have a concealed carry you’re allowed to open carry.”

“You can’t walk down the middle of the street with a rifle on your arm,” the deputy replies. “I’ve never even heard of that before.” He calls in the sheriff at the gun owner’s request, who shows up a few minutes later, agrees that “You can’t do that,” and responds to the citizen’s protest by telling him “With a gun like that on your shoulder, I don’t care what the attorney general says.”

As expected, outrage ensues, at least until a note linking to a Delaware Online article (protected by a subscription firewall) appears under the post:

“This video from 2014 shows Maryland State Delegate Mike Smigiel and was coordinated with Maryland Sheriff Mike Lewis. It was filmed to highlight the attorney general’s position that concealed carry wasn’t needed in Maryland because open carry was allowed.”

“I don’t care what the attorney general says” pic.twitter.com/c4Xc9z2p81

— Stu thats all you get (@Boldyboy1975) May 19, 2025

That’s every bit as outrageous, but at least it tells us the video was staged. It was also accurate in its portrayal of police being clueless about open carry in many jurisdictions, creating a situation in which lawless law enforcers, conditioned to view themselves as the “Only Ones” who should be armed, not only deny citizens rights they are sworn to uphold, but threaten their lives in the process.

That’s not hyperbole. It’s been documented for years. By me.

Back in 2010, I wrote an article (now only available on the Internet Archive, so it may load slowly) about an East Palo Alto, CA detective’s Facebook comments on open carriers:

“Sounds like you had someone practicing their 2nd amendment rights last night!” Tuason wrote. “Should’ve pulled the AR out and prone them all out! And if one of them makes a furtive movement … 2 weeks off!!!”

This is what he had to say about their inability to get concealed carry permits due to state disarmament “laws”:

“Haha that’s when you attend one of their meetings and laugh at them cuz they can only dream to have a ccw…”

Back the Blue, right?

And this [unedited] online conversation between two Ohio cops took place under a story about two open carry advocates bringing their rifles into a Texas Chipotle:

Shoot the kid on the right.. And they should never know you’re carrying yours anyhow!

Id be yelling at him drop the gun

Then tap tap

You can do both at the same time.. Haha [Followed by 4 revolver emojis]

Haha, indeed. Is anybody else laughing?

Seeing attitudes like this in my home state prompted me to write successive attorneys general, culminating in a letter to then AG (now governor) Mike DeWine.

“I am writing to express concern that Ohio law enforcement is not receiving proper training regarding the duty of sworn officers to respect and protect the right of the people to openly bear arms in public,” I told him in a Return Receipt letter. “Some have exhibited ignorance on occasion, as well as contemptuous attitudes that endanger the public and may create blowback. I am also offering a solution to help ensure the law is observed and that dangerous situations and unwarranted responses will not be initiated by the authorities.”

“How hard could it be for the state’s top law enforcement officer … to write a memorandum recognizing the legality of peaceable open carry, and then sending it to every police and sheriff’s department in the state, as well as to the Highway Patrol?” I asked after reminding his I had asked the same questions of his predecessor, and of the attorney general before that. “One would assume flow-down communications explaining your interpretations and positions on law enforcement issues are already established and routine.

“And how hard would it be for the individual LE departments to transmit this information to their sworn personnel?” the letter continued. “ If you’re already requiring employees to sign acknowledgments such as they understand sexual harassment rules, etc., and are placing such proof of training documents in their personnel files, how much more effort would be required to have each officer sign and date a simple acknowledgment that he or she understands that open carry is lawful?”

Curiously, the “double tap” posts were taken down after I sent my letter. And DeWine washed his hands of it, saying training standards were up to the legislature. Then a young black man handling a pellet gun in a Walmart was swatted and shot to death in an incident where store surveillance videos were not released and the 911 caller recanted his story about the gun being waved around. And then, after a second death of a young black by cop, DeWine decided he could conduct enhanced training after all.

Add to this the attitudes of top police management, including for legal concealed carry, with then-Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy imposing a “shoot first” policy:

“I don’t care if they’re licensed legal firearms. I’ll train our officers that there is a concealed carry law, but when somebody turns with a firearm in their hand the officer does not have an obligation to wait to get shot to return fire and we’re going to have tragedies as a result of that. I’m telling you right up front.”

And then there was the Canton, OH cop who screamed threats like a lunatic when a concealed carrier finally got  a word in edgewise to inform him he was armed (@ 5:55 into the NSFW video.)

Bottom line, armed citizens are out there. A lot of them. Law enforcement needs to understand this and be prepared to handle encounters respectfully and professionally. What’s unknown is the level of training required in each state, and that’s a worthy goal for our “gun rights lobbyists” to address with our representatives.

Assuming that’s not going to happen, it’s up to each of us to carry safely, to treat each interaction with an LE as a situation where we need to avoid emotionally escalating things for our own good, and  wait until we’re in a safe place and with adequate counsel before getting legally assertive.

About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.