Hooray for Jim Zumbo

Yes, the man finally gets it. And despite having endured some really over-the-top comments from firebreathing 2A supporters, he is reacting with grace and class. My hat’s off to him. 

“The last few days have been an educational experience, to say the least. My ill-conceived inflammatory blog, as all of you now know, set off a firestorm that, I’m told, has never before been equaled. I’m not proud of that.
Let me say this at the outset. My words here are from the heart, and all mine. No one can censor me, and I answer to no one but myself. And I have no one to blame but myself. Outdoor Life, a magazine that I worked for full-time as Hunting Editor for almost 30 years, fired me yesterday. My TV show was cancelled yesterday. Many of my sponsors have issued statements on their website to sever all relationships. This may cause many of you to do backflips and dance in the streets, but, of course, I’m not laughing, nor am I looking for sympathy. I don’t want a pity party.

They say hindsight is golden. Looking back, I can’t believe I said the words “ban” and “terrorist” in the context that I did. I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that. I can explain this as sheer ignorance and an irresponsible use of words. What I’ve learned over the last few days has enlightened and amazed me. As a guy who hunts 200 days a year, does seminars on hunting, wrote for six hunting magazines, had a hunting TV show, and wrote 20 books on hunting, how could I have been so ignorant and out of touch with reality in the world of hunting and shooting?

But I was. I really can’t explain it, maybe because I just summarily dismissed the firearms in question in my mind when I saw them in magazines and catalogs. I saw one “black” firearm in a hunting camp in all my 50 years of hunting, and I shot one last year off a boat when fishing in Alaska. To tell the truth, it was fun and I enjoyed it immensely, but I never considered one for use in hunting. I have to tell you that I have had a revelation. I’m learning that many of my pals own AR-15’s and similar firearms and indeed use them for hunting. I was totally unaware that they were being used for legitimate hunting purposes. That is the absolute truth.

My biggest regret is not the financial impact of all this. I’m almost 67 and retirement is an option. The dreadful impact here is that I inadvertently struck a spear into the hearts of the people I love most…America’s gun owners. And, even though this huge cadre of dedicated people have succeeded in stripping me of my career, I hold no grudges. I will continue to stand as firm on pro hunting as I’ve ever done. But what’s different now is that I’ll do all I can to educate others who are, or were, as ignorant as I was about “black” rifles and the controversy that surrounds them. My promise to you is that I’ll learn all I can about these firearms, and by the time this week is out, I’ll order one. The NUGE has invited me to hunt with him using AR-15’s, and I’m eager to go, and learn. I’ll do all I can to spread the word.

I understand that many of you will not accept this apology, believing that the damage has been done and there’s no way to repair it. You have that right. But let me say this. I mentioned this above, and I’ll repeat it. I’m willing to seize this opportunity to educate hunters and shooters who shared my ignorance. If you’re willing to allow me to do that, we can indeed, in my mind, form a stronger bond within our ranks. Maybe in a roundabout way we can bring something good out of this.”  – Jim Zumbo

h/t wetdogranch, where I first saw it. This may be taken from Ted Nugent’s board — at least Uncle thinks so.

I accept this apology. Had his first “apology” read like this, I think he’d still have his sponsors. It just happened too fast for him to react. According to Tom Gresham, Tom notified Jim of the fiery reaction to his initial post while Jim was still driving home from the .17-caliber tryout he mentioned. Jim (obviously) had no clue what he’d started. By the third hour of Tom’s radio program, Jim had reviewed some of the angry posts and responded with his initial apology, then went on Gresham’s show. As you can see from the transcript, neither one of them really understood at that time what was so offensive about the post.

It took a few days, but Gresham finally got it and wrote as much here. Now Zumbo as well. Good for them both, and good for the Second Amendment!

I sincerely hope there will be a strong expression of support for Jim Zumbo now from the 2A community. The above has all the words from him I could have wanted, and more. As Joe pointed out, he’s far too valuable an asset for the 2A community to lose.

Michael Bane has, as usual, excellent coverage of this whole thing, and some much-needed reflections on how the firearms industry may finally have realized that it’s shooters as well as hunters (if not more so), who pay their bills.

I hope Mr. Zumbo’s show returns within a month or so with some AR manufacturer as lead sponsor. I’m gonna guess it’ll be DPMS ’cause they sponsor the Nuge’s show. 

One last bit…I wonder who was really behind that supposed Brady blog post endorsing Zumbo’s remarks? Doesn’t seem like it was the Bradys….