On Saturday night, during special coverage of the anti-gun March for Our Lives rally on CNN, host Erin Burnett displayed a classic example of the media double standard on guns in which a guest who supports gun rights gets debated on the issue, but guests who support more control have their liberal views unchallenged or even further pressed from the left.
At about 9:30 p.m. ET, as Colorado Republican State Rep.Patrick Neville (a survivor of the Columbine school shooting) appeared as a guest to promote his plan to train teachers to use guns so they can hopefully deter attacks in their schools, Burnett repeatedly fretted over the idea of increasing the number of guns in schools.
After allowing him to explain why he supports such a plan, she brought up a couple of teachers from Parkland who have spoken out against doing so as the CNN host followed up: "But arming teachers is very controversial, as you're well aware, and I just wanted to play for you two teachers from Stoneman Douglas in Florida who think your idea is not a good one."
She then played a clip of one teacher declaring that she would be afraid to be carrying a gun when the police SWAT team arrived, followed by a clip of a second teacher claiming that "I don't think I know any teachers that would feel comfortable carrying a weapon in their classroom."
After Burnett asked, "Do they have a point?" Neville knocked down the straw man argument liberals have employed that teachers might be required against their will to carry guns. Still not convinced, Burnett was still worried about the idea like a liberal caricature fearing guns:
I'm just wondering, as a parent, why you would think, though, fundamentally, that having more guns is the solution? Putting more guns in schools, right? Not fewer. You're not trying to take away guns from people who are mentally ill or shouldn't have them.
You're saying, "Let's add more guns so that we can have a gun battle if they actually end up at the school." I think that's what gives people pause. Does that give you pause ever?
Earlier in the two-hour special of Erin Burnett Outfront, the CNN host had given gun control activist and Parkland parent Fred Guttenberg an unchallenged forum to react to the school safety plans that have been introduced, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio's handling of the matter. The show also began with a segment with three liberal student activists as guests who were allowed to promote their views without any pushback from the right.
Additionally, as Florida Repubican Rep. Brian Mast made an appearance to voice support for some gun control measures like banning AR-15s, Burnett twice pressed him from the left on why President Donald Trump has backed off from his suggestion of raising the legal age for buying all guns to 21.
