Last week while MSNBC was busy deceptively editing a video of Neil Heslin, the father of a child murdered in the Newtown, Connecticut mass shooting, the "Lean Forward" network and the rest of the liberal media failed to notice the pro-gun rights testimony of another Newtown father, Bill Stevens. While he was fortunate enough to not have lost a child that day, Mr. Stevens has a daughter in 5th grade and her classmate's little sister was among those killed. "Charlton Heston made the phrase 'From my cold dead hands' famous and I am here to tell you today, you will take my ability to protect my Victoria from my cold dead hands," Stevens told the panel. [watch the video below the page break]
"In the politics of tragedy, victims and the relatives/friends of victims are often given absolute moral authority on the subject at hand. As long as they’re saying things that fit the political agenda of one side or the other in the debate," conservative blogger Rob Port noted in a February 4 post. "I’m guessing Mr. Stevens won’t be given that authority, however, because his opinions don’t fit the narrative," Port added, concluding:
Going through a tragedy doesn’t make anyone more or less right about public policy. Politicians are quick to use these people as props aimed at playing on the emotions of the public, but that’s bogus. Especially when you consider that the people themselves often have very differing views.
Port is spot on. A Google News search for "Bill Stevens" and "testimony" produced just a handful of results, only one of which was from a print publication, the Connecticut Post:
Others criticized lawmakers for proposing laws before the final report on the Sandy Hook murders. State police chiefs said they want all firearms registered, including rifles that are now exempt. Gun manufacturers warn that thousands of Connecticut jobs are at stake.
Bill Stevens, of Newtown, who has a daughter in town schools, promised that in the case of a home invasion, he would be calling 911 after first shooting the people threatening his family.
He paraphrased a famous gun-rights quotation: "I will tell you here today, you will take my ability to protect my Victoria from my cold, dead hands," Stevens said to the applause of supporters at about 5:30 p.m.
Searches of Nexis similarly yielded nothing on ABC, CBS, or NBC about Mr. Stevens's testimony.
