Jack McCauley, a former Maryland state trooper, thought gun enthusiasts were crazy. Until he actually talked to them.
In 2012, McCauley was assigned to head the state’s licensing division. Maryland had just lost a lawsuit against its concealed carry restrictions, and his office was gearing up for a flood of permit requests.
“I’ve got to be honest with you, I was a little bit scared,” McCauley recalled, during remarks he made to the state Senate. “These crazy people, these Second Amendment activists, they’re all going to want these, they’re trophies, they’re all going to want this permit, it’s going to be scary…just any Joe Citizen is going to get a gun.”
He was so concerned that he started doing in-depth research to prepare, and meeting with gun activists.
“But you know what? When I met them, they schooled me,” he said. “They not only schooled me — they embarrassed me. They humbled me. I was wrong. I was completely wrong.”
“I worried about people carrying guns, I really did,” he said. “My fears weren’t justified.”
He’s since joined one of those gun rights groups he first met with, Maryland Shall Issue.
McCauley now not only supports private citizens who own guns—he argues that they are often less prone to tragic errors than his former colleagues. According to one study–which McCauley recalled once trying, and failing, to disprove–police officers are more likely than private citizens to be arrested for a gun-related crime. “Law enforcement’s more dangerous than concealed weapon carriers,” he said.
Watch below:
(h/t Washington Times)
