Guns & Ammo magazine has apologized for running a column opining that regulating the Second Amendment is not an infringement on gun owners' rights.
"I thought it would generate a healthy exchange of ideas on gun rights,"
wrote contrite Jim Bequette, the magazine's editor. "I miscalculated, pure and simple. I was wrong, and I ask your forgiveness."
The publication has also fired the column's writer, Dick Metcalf, a long-time editor at the firearm enthusiast magazine, which enjoys a circulation of 416,224, according to Alliance for Audited Media.
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After the piece ran, Guns & Ammo came under fire from angry readers, besieging
the magazine's Facebook page.
Readers and gun enthusiasts are now applauding the decision to can Metcalf.
Bequette bent over backward to assure readers of Guns & Ammo's unwavering support for unfettered firearm possession.
"Historically, our tradition in supporting the Second Amendment has been unflinching," he wrote. "No strings attached."
"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."
Metcalf took the position that regulation does not equate to an infringement to bear arms, arguing that all constitutional rights are rightly regulated.
"Freedom of speech is regulated," he wrote. "You cannot falsely and deliberately shout, 'Fire!' in a crowded theater. Freedom of religion is regulated. A church cannot practice human sacrifice."
To ensure responsible gun ownership, firearms training should not only be required, it is necessary, according to Metcalf. He questioned whether Second Amendment purists would find it acceptable for someone to drive a car on public roads without any training, testing, or license. To Metcalf, the two scenarios share the same basic principle.
"I firmly believe that all U.S. citizens have a right to keep and bear arms, but I do not believe they have a right to use them irresponsibly. And I do believe their fellow citizens, by the specific language of the Second Amendment, have an equal right to enact regulatory laws requiring them to undergo adequate training and preparation for the responsibility of bearing arms."
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