Gun Mag Editor & Columnist Blasted; Lose Jobs Over Pro-Regulation Piece

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Guns & Ammo editor in chief Jim Bequette resigned, and contributing editor Dick Metcalf is out the door after Metcalf's last-page column in the December issue arguing gun regulation doesn't abridge Second Amendment rights backfired, drawing a hale of criticism from readers and threats of an advertising boycott.

Ad Age reported that Bequette apologized to readers for Metcalf's column in which Metcalf wrote: "The fact is all constitutional rights are regulated, always have been, and need to be." The contributing editor went on to write: "I don't think that requiring 16 hours of training to qualify for a concealed carry license is infringement in and of itself."  Heresy.

Guns & Ammo and parent company InterMedia Outdoors silently endured a barrage of online demands from readers that Metcalf be terminated, along with threats of cancelled subscriptions and advertiser boycotts, according to Ad Age. In his apology, Bequette said he miscalculated in believing the column would generate a discussion of gun regulation, and apologized for deviating from the magazine's unwavering commitment to the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Apparently, Guns & Ammo subscribers will only accept an author shooting off his mouth if it happens accidentally while cleaning a rifle.