It was a magazine column designed to generate a discussion of gun rights.

“Way too many gun owners still seem to believe that any regulation of the right to keep and bear arms is an infringement,” the column said. “The fact is, all constitutional rights are regulated, always have been, all need to be.”

Titled “Let’s Talk Limits,” the column was published in the December issue of Guns & Ammo, the well-known magazine based in Florida, and written by longtime contributing editor Dick Metcalf.

And it enraged readers.

Over the last few days, opposition to Metcalf’s stance reached a boiling point. On Wednesday, the magazine’s editor, Jim Bequette, posted an online letter of apology that addressed Guns & Ammo readers and announced that both he and Metcalf would no longer be working at the magazine.

Although he had been planning to step down Jan. 1, Bequette announced he would resign immediately, hastened by the outcry.

In his apology, Bequette wrote that he had thought the column would “generate a healthy exchange of ideas on gun rights.”

“I miscalculated, pure and simple. I was wrong, and ask for your forgiveness.”

More: Guns & Ammo Editor Steps Down After Gun Rights Column Stirs Outrage