Opposition: Not Annihilation
By Mike Faulk

According to MSNBC, "Longtime outdoor writer Jim Zumbo saw his career undone this week after he posted a blog entry criticizing the use of military-style assault rifles by hunters. The remark sparked a backlash that cost Zumbo his top-rated weekly TV program, his job at Outdoor Life magazine and his corporate ties to the biggest names in gunmaking."

Somehow, we have to learn how to have a dialogue in our political world without vilifying those who hold a different viewpoint. Demonization of our opponents has got to stop. Dislike for an idea must not mandate dislike for the person expressing it.

The NRA, Remington and Outdoor Life have over-reacted. The power of the purse is indeed one to be wielded to effect positive public change. But these giants in the outdoor sporting world have chosen annihilation over confrontation with Zumbo and his remarkable career as an advocate for the Second Amendment and outdoorsmen everywhere.

Dad taught me "never bite when a bark will do." Perhaps a quarter century of "disagreeing without being disagreeable" in courtrooms across Tennessee has made my voice softer but my advocacy is no less effective.

I agree with Kingsport Times News outdoor writer George Thwaites: "Zumbo did a dumb thing. But evidently there’s a lot of dumb going around these days. We can only hope cooler, wiser heads prevail."

Ironically, those attacking Zumbo the hardest give the anti-gun crowd plenty of cannon fodder. It's a shame. Surely his lifetime of advocacy for that which most gun owners hold dear, the right to bear arms, should count for something. The big picture of Zumbo's career promoting the Second Amendment should overwhelm a mistake of expressing an unpopular opinion in a less than artful way.

I disagree with Zumbo's opinion on the use of assault rifles. I read Outdoor Life. I think Zumbo should be chastised for implying hunters who use assault rifles are terrorists. I own more than one Remington product. I'm a card carrying member of the NRA. But I'm not ready to kill his career.

I treasure our Bill of Rights. I also know in practical application none of those guaranteed rights are absolute. For instance, first year law students are taught that, even though we enjoy a First Amendment right to free speech, no one has the right to shout "fire" in a crowded theatre causing a fatal stampede when there is no fire. So the First Amendment contains no absolute guarantee of saying what you want when you want.

Likewise, the Second Amendment contains no absolute guarantee. I'll defend your right to bear arms, your right to bear an assault rifle, and your right to possession ammunition for them. Don't ask me to defend your right to own, possess, and park in your driveway an Abrams M1 tank or a Stinger ground-to-air missile.

The issue is where one draws the line. I wouldn't draw the line were Zumbo did. But I'm not ready to kill his career because of disagreement with this one wrong opinion. Here in the mountains of east Tennessee, there have been many, many boundary disputes over where to draw the line between tracts of real estate. As a result there have been many fights and feuds. But there have been very, very few 'killins' over where to draw the line.