'Guns & Ammo' Editor Faced Murder Charges

I wonder if public editor Margaret Sullivan will take a look at this.  You may recall the story a few months back when a longtime Guns & Ammo columnist dared to suggest that maybe a little tightening of gun laws in certain cases was not such a bad idea.  After protests from readers and advertisers he was shit-canned.  Many hailed him for taking some kind of stand, however moderate, and yesterday the NYT caught up with him in a very sympathetic story.

One problem:  the Times quotes more than once a former editor at Guns & Ammo who remains strongly against gun control.  “We are locked in a struggle with powerful forces in this country who will do anything to destroy the Second Amendment,” says Richard Venola.  “The time for ceding some rational points is gone.”   One problem: this same guy was charged with murder not long ago for shooting and killing another fellow (mug shot at left).  He got off twice on hung juries and just recently learned he did not face another trial.

The Times noted this--well down in the story, in merely a brief--parenthetical--line.  It failed to mention the drunken fight part.  Perhaps they downplayed this a bit too much?