Mr. Preach ✖

❓Do you consider this video, that included the sheriff, to be propaganda or good faith public education? The 2014 video is staged, not an actual event. Wicomico County, Maryland. Delegate Mike Smigiel walked a public road with a .22 rifle slung on his shoulder. Deputy Cpl. Hal Phillips stopped him, ordered the gun down, and said he couldn’t do that. Smigiel cited then-AG Doug Gansler’s court statements that Maryland already had open carry for long guns so it didn’t need concealed-carry permits. Phillips called Sheriff Mike Lewis. Lewis arrived, told Smigiel he still couldn’t walk around like that because it generates 911 calls and puts deputies looking down their barrels at a legally armed citizen, then handed the unloaded rifle back and let him leave. They staged and filmed it. Smigiel asked Lewis to participate. The video even warns: don’t try this near officers who don’t know you or the law—you can get arrested or shot. Smigiel knew the sheriff. Maryland still treats long guns differently from handguns. No statewide permit is required to openly carry a rifle or shotgun in most places, but doing it in public almost always produces a police response. ❓Was that the point of the clip or was it something more? ❓Does this video say, "We know the law, but we still won't allow you to open carry, regardless." ? ❓What message did YOU get from what the sheriff said in the video?