When CNN announced they were hosting a town hall on the subject of guns, I think a lot of us knew it was going to be a trainwreck. The only real reason to watch was to see gun rights activist Dana Loesch in action. She, along with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, were there to represent the pro-gun side.

However, what actually happened was a farce. It was an anti-gun infomercial with only the thinnest veneer of impartiality.

There’s a reason why people found it so easy to believe that CNN tried to stack the deck, even though they denied it.

CNN reached out directly to The Daily Caller to deny the claim made by a Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor in regard to Wednesday night’s gun safety town hall in Florida, but their explanation seems to run contrary to programming featured in that same town hall.

Colton Haab, a JROTC enlistee who has previously spoken with media outlets about how he helped his peers seek shelter during the shooting, did not take part in Wednesday’s event on the grounds that CNN attempted to plant “scripted” questions for him to ask.

“CNN had originally asked me to write a speech and questions and it ended up being all scripted,” Haab claimed. “I expected to be able to ask my questions and give my opinion on my questions.”

A CNN spokesman reached out to TheDC and explained that while Haab did in fact submit remarks to be delivered, they were turned away once it became clear he planned on delivering an extensive speech and not just ask a singular question.

…

Dornic added the network gave Haab the opportunity to expand on the idea of arming teachers, a topic which was brought up multiple times during the town hall, as opposed to delivering a prepared speech. Haab reportedly declined to reframe his remarks, and his father subsequently prevented him from taking part in the program.

However, it seems that others were allowed to offer lengthy speeches rather than questions, which gives lie to CNN’s claim as to why Haab wasn’t permitted to offer his comments.

If they’re dishonest about that, what else are they being dishonest about?

Once upon a time, CNN billed itself as “the most trusted name in news.” That was a long time ago, now. Today, the network likes to pretend it’s the neutral alternative between leftist MSNBC and conservative Fox News, but no one is really buying that. This supposed town hall is one example of why.

Haab, a kid who risked his own life to protect his fellow students, didn’t want to talk gun control. He wanted to talk about other things like better school security, something that shouldn’t be controversial, and the possibility of arming teachers, something that’s controversial for some odd reason. Yet he wasn’t allowed.

More than that, though, he claims CNN tried to push liberal talking points down his throat, talking points that have been pushed time and time again, talking points that call for nothing less than the punishment of law-abiding citizens for the actions of a madman.

CNN needs to remember this the next time they’re referred to as “fake news.” There’s no reason to trust them based on their own actions, and no amount of cutesy videos saying, “This is an apple,” will change that.