A voice of moderation in the gun control debate?
“Guns and Ammo Magazine,” a stalwart of gun rights advocacy, fired contributing editor Dick Metcalf after he penned, and the magazine published, an editorial advocating moderate gun control.
In his opinion piece titled “Let’s Talk Limits,” Metcalf wrote in part,
“Way too many gun owners still seem to believe that any regulation of the right to keep and bear arms is an infringement. The fact is, all constitutional rights are regulated, always have been, and need to be….All U.S. citizens have a right to keep and bear arms, but I do not believe that they have a right to use them irresponsibly.”
The Horror. You would have thought he had come out for legalized cannibalism. Readers attacked the editor and the magazine on social media, and threatened to cancel subscriptions. “Guns and Ammo” editor Jim Bequette posted an apology to readers on the magazine’s website, saying he should never have run the column:
“In publishing Metcalf’s column, I was untrue to that tradition, and for that I apologize. His views do not represent mine — nor, most important, ‘Guns & Ammo’’s. It is very clear to me that they don’t reflect the views of our readership either. I made a mistake by publishing the column,” he continued. “I thought it would generate a healthy exchange of ideas on gun rights. I miscalculated, pure and simple. I was wrong, and I ask your forgiveness.”
Bequette not only announced that “Guns & Ammo” had fired the author, but also that he was leaving as well.
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