DEBATE: Should Sen. John McCain Be Angry at TV Station for Airing Edited Comments?
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is trying to set the record straight about a clip that shows him talking about gun control at a town hall event. In the clip a mother of one of the Aurora, Colo., shooting victims makes the case that assault weapons like the one used by James Holmes should be banned, then asks McCain whether he agrees.
In the short clip shown by a local station and replayed by MSNBC, McCain
is only shown saying, "you need some straight talk" and declaring that an assault weapons ban won't pass in Congress. But his response was actually significantly longer, and he went on to talk about background checks and other things that can be done, telling the woman he is committed to working on measures that will prevent gun violence. He also expressed his sympathy for her loss.
Megyn Kelly talked with reporter Lachlan Markay and professor Mark Hannah about whether the edited clip was meant to make McCain look bad. Hannah said he doesn't see a problem with it, pointing out that the clip was edited down to its most essential portion, which was McCain talking about the assault weapons ban.
Markay disagreed, however, saying the way the clip appeared on MSNBC "was reinforcing a preconceived notion of guns rights supporters that they simply don't care about the emotional aspect or the personal experiences of people affected by gun violence, and when you show the full clip that's clearly not the case."
Watch the debate and tell us what you think:
