Dick Metcalf is a familiar name to many firearms enthusiasts. He has been writing about guns for decades, and in more recent years has hosted the firearms related television show, "Modern Rifle Adventures", which focuses on hunting with AR-platform firearms. With one column though, to many, Metcalf became the enemy.
The uproar is about Metcalf's column in the December issue of Guns & Ammo, in which he states firearm advocates shouldn't necessarily oppose all limits on firearms ownership and concealed carry rights, which are already highly regulated. He stated he wouldn't be opposed to requiring training before concealed carry. For this statement, his longtime relationship with InterMedia ended.
"I bring this up," he wrote, "because way too many gun owners still believe that any regulation of the right to keep and bear arms is an infringement. The fact is that all Constitutional rights are regulated, always have been, and need to be."
In the days after the December issue came out, Metcalf became a target of intense scrutiny.
Jim Shepherd of the Outdoor Wire said, "Dick Metcalf has been fired by his longtime employer and cursed, threatened and damned by many of his former readers for something he wrote. And he's had no opportunity to respond. To me, that's unfair, especially among people supposedly on the same side. For the record, I disagree, totally, with what he suggested, but believe Metcalf deserves the opportunity to respond."
Metcalf took Shepherd up on his offer to write a rebuttal and it was published Nov. 8 on the Outdoor Wire.
"If a respected editor can be forced to resign and a controversial writer's voice be shut down by a one-sided social media and internet outcry, virtually overnight, simply because they dared to open a discussion or ask questions about a politically sensitive issue ... then I fear for the future of our industry, and for our Cause. Do not 2nd Amendment adherents also believe in Freedom of Speech? Do Americans now fear open and honest discussion of different opinions about important Constitutional issues? Do voices from cyberspace now control how and why business decisions are made?" Metcalf wrote.
Metcalf ended his response with the following: To those who have expressed their vigorous opposition to the content of the December column (and to my continued existence on this planet), I would pose these questions:
If you believe the 2nd Amendment should be subject to no regulation at all, do you therefore believe all laws prohibiting convicted violent repeat criminals from having guns are unconstitutional? Should all such laws be repealed?
Do you also believe all laws establishing concealed-carry licenses are unconstitutional?
Do you have a concealed-carry license anyway?
Are you thereby violating the Constitution yourself?
The gun debate in our great nation continues to rage on. It's a complex debate most firearms enthusiasts have staunch opinions about. Many believe there is no room for movement, while others like Metcalf think differently. The entire Metcalf debacle shines a light on how intense the firearms debate remains.
Read Metcalf's entire response at www.theoutdoorwire.com/features/228229.
See you down the trail ...
III
Brandon Butler is an outdoors columnist for the News Tribune. Contact him at [email protected].