Jim Zumbo made a big mistake. And he has paid a price. Zumbo is a famous hunter and hunting advocate. He wrote for Outdoor Life from 1962 up until last week. What did he do? He wrote this on his blog after a long day hunting coyotes on the Remington company’s dime:
“Excuse me, maybe I’m a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons [military-style assault rifles] among our hunting fraternity,” Zumbo wrote in his blog on the Outdoor Life Web site. The Feb. 16 posting has since been taken down. “As hunters, we don’t need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them. . . . I’ll go so far as to call them ‘terrorist’ rifles.”
Oops. Six thousand outraged letters later, Zumbo issued his resignation. Check out how the NRA treated him:
The reaction — from tens of thousands of owners of assault rifles across the country, from media and manufacturers rooted in the gun business, and from the National Rifle Association — has been swift, severe and unforgiving. Despite a profuse public apology and a vow to go hunting soon with an assault weapon, Zumbo’s career appears to be over.
His top-rated weekly TV program on the Outdoor Channel, his longtime career with Outdoor Life magazine and his corporate ties to the biggest names in gunmaking, including Remington Arms Co., have been terminated or are on the ropes.
The NRA on Thursday pointed to the collapse of Zumbo’s career as an example of what can happen to anyone, including a “fellow gun owner,” who challenges the right of Americans to own or hunt with assault-style firearms…
“Our folks fully understand that their rights are at stake,” the NRA statement said. It warned that the “grassroots” passion that brought down Zumbo shows that millions of people would “resist with an immense singular political will any attempts to create a new ban on semi-automatic firearms.”
Never mind that he was a “40-year NRA member and has appeared with NRA officials in 70 cities.” And Remington was no kinder:
Remington chief executive Tommy Millner issued a personal appeal to gun owners who might be thinking about boycotting the company’s products: “Rest assured that Remington not only does not support [Zumbo’s] view, we totally disagree,” Millner said. “I have no explanation for his perspective. I proudly own AR’s and support everyone’s right to do so!”
So what explains this vicious assault on a long-time NRA member and hunting advocate?
Zumbo’s fall highlights a fundamental concern of the NRA and many champions of military-style firearms, according to people who follow the organization closely. They do not want American gun owners to make a distinction between assault weapons and traditional hunting guns such as shotguns and rifles. If they did, a rift could emerge between hunters, who tend to have the most money for political contributions to gun rights causes, and assault-weapon owners, who tend to have lots of passion but less cash.
The Democratic Party has its problems and divisions. But this is ridiculous.
