The damage, unfortunately, is already done. Much like Jim Zumbo before him, Dick Metcalf didn’t just stick his foot in his mouth…He peppered it with lead for seasoning first. I’d like to defend him but, I can’t. The Brady Campaign and the media have already started salivating and run with the headline, screaming, “Guns & Ammo Supports Gun Control!” It will be seen as “proof” that 90% of Americans believe in the Draconian style gun laws and gun bans these people consistently advocate.

Meanwhile, Guns & Ammo has had to go into damage control mode in an attempt to head off the same blood-letting that Recoil magazine saw earlier this year when one of their editors shot himself in the foot with a comment about what guns should and should not be in the hands of civilians. Metcalf was apparently already on his way out at Guns & Ammo but, in an open letter (seen below), Jim Bequett announced that departure schedule has been moved up to right now. Bequett apologized to readers/subscribers and said that Eric R. Poole will be taking over the reigns at Guns & Ammo, effective immediately.

Meanwhile, a number of folks jumped to Metcalf’s defense and I can understand a desire not to eat your own but, folks, we really should be done compromising. Metcalf offered up a liberal’s wetdream of an interpretation of what a “well regulated milita” means and his defenders have done the same saying the National Guard is the modern equivalent there of which brings us right back to the liberal mindset that only the police and military should have guns. We’ve been down this road before, that’s not what the Framers meant or intended. It’s a post for another time but, it is intellectually dishonest to interpret all other rights in the Bill of Rights as being the rights of individuals and then randomly single out the 2nd Amendment as being a “collective” right.

For the record Dick, you can yell “FIRE!” in a crowded theater…There is no law against it but, you do bear criminal/civil responsibility for whatever happens as a result of the misuse of your right to do so. Likewise, there should be no law against owning a firearm (any firearm) but, you can and should bear criminal/civil responsibility for misusing said firearm if you unlawfully harm another person or their property. That’s the way it should be and the only regulation we really should tolerate. Instead, we’ve allowed politicians to slowly eat away at not just the 2nd Amendment but, the entire Bill of Rights such that now, “clenched buttocks” stand in as probable cause for a compulsory colonoscopy when X-Rays and anal probes fail to find drugs.

GM

For those interested, Jim Bequett’s open letter can be seen here:

As editor of “Guns & Ammo,” I owe each and every reader a personal apology.

 

No excuses, no backtracking.

 

Dick Metcalf’s “Backstop” column in the December issue has aroused unprecedented controversy. Readers are hopping mad about it, and some are questioning “Guns & Ammo”’s commitment to the Second Amendment. I understand why.

 

Let me be clear: Our commitment to the Second Amendment is unwavering. It has been so since the beginning. Historically, our tradition in supporting the Second Amendment has been unflinching. No strings attached. It is no accident that when others in the gun culture counseled compromise in the past, hard-core thinkers such as Harlon Carter, Don Kates and Neal Knox found a place and a voice in these pages. When large firearms advocacy groups were going soft in the 1970s, they were prodded in the right direction, away from the pages of “Guns & Ammo.”

 

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.

 

Dick Metcalf has had a long and distinguished career as a gunwriter, but his association with “Guns & Ammo” has officially ended.

 

I once again offer my personal apology. I understand what our valued readers want. I understand what you believe in when it comes to gun rights, and I believe the same thing.

 

I made a mistake by publishing the column. 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.

 

Plans were already in place for a new editor to take the reins of “Guns & Ammo” on January 1. However, these recent events have convinced me that I should advance that schedule immediately.

 

Your new “Guns & Ammo” editor will be Eric R. Poole, who has so effectively been running our special interest publications, such as “Book of the AR-15” and “TRIGGER.” You will be hearing much more about this talented editor soon.

 

“Guns & Ammo” will never fail to vigorously lead the struggle for our Second Amendment rights, and with vigorous young editorial leadership such as Eric’s, it will be done even better in the future.

 

Respectfully,

Jim Bequette

via Our Response to the December 2013 Backpage Column – Guns & Ammo.