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Fox News anchor pleads for gun control in segments that could have been on MSNBC and CNN all day

May 30, 2022 | | Print Article

(Video: Fox News)

Fox News anchor Arthel Neville on Sunday handed a major assist to those who would use the Uvalde school slaughter as an excuse to trample on the 2nd Amendment, claiming “prayers are not enough” and calling on lawmakers to “do something” about imposing gun control measures on law-abiding citizens.

“As we’ve said before, prayers are not enough,” Neville said during a “Fox News Live” segment devoted to President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s visit to a memorial for the 19 children and two teachers shot dead last week at Robb Elementary School.

“We have to do something,” the co-anchor continued.

While Neville did reserve a hint of criticism for President Biden, her main beef was with GOP lawmakers.

“We’ve got to get the lawmakers to do something. Now, the president is, you know, the commander in chief. This is happening on his watch, but he needs the help of Congress to get something done,” she said.

Fox News contributor Griff Jenkins was more critical of Biden, claiming the president has failed to unite Democrats and Republicans on the issue of gun control, just as he did as vice president in the wake of Sandy Hook.

But Neville was steadfast in shifting the blame to Republicans.

“Excuse me,” she interjected. “It’s not just about the president uniting, okay? So let’s be clear about that.”

“Yes, this is happening on his watch,” she conceded. “Yes, he is responsible. Yes, he campaigned on a united America. And, yes, he needs to do something about it, but he can’t do it alone.”

And it wasn’t just to Jenkins that Neville expressed her support for gun control.

Earlier in the program, Neville welcomed Judy Miller, another Fox News contributor, and the two of them discussed whether “this time” will bring different results in terms of legislation than after previous mass shootings.

According to Miller, “the Senate goes into recess next week, that means that the furor and the anger that people feel over this latest slaughter is likely to diminish,” however she did believe that “this time may be different.”

Many deaths, said Miller, “could be prevented with sensible gun legislation.”

And that, Miller argued, will hinge on Republican support for the issue.

“If New Zealand and Australia can do it after their mass shooting, why can’t we?” Miller asked. “I think it really depends on the Republicans now — they must stop being the party of egregious mass shootings and uncontrolled guns. That has to stop. It’s up to them. And I think Mitch McConnell’s instructions to his fellow Republicans to negotiate with the Democrats suggests that he understands something’s changing.”

“The question, Arthel, is how long will the furor over this kind of mass shooting last?” Miller said. “Will it be enough to finally, finally push the country, the Senate, the House into some sensible gun control?”

Now, because Fox News is meant to be a conservative network, you might think Neville would use this opportunity to bring up the Bill of Rights or argue that a psychopath who is willing to open fire on fourth-graders probably won’t be all that concerned with the legalities of gun control measures — measures that have done nothing to slow the spike in gun violence in Dem-run cities — but if you thought that, you’d be sadly mistaken.

Instead, Neville used the tragedies of both Uvalde and Buffalo to suggest the nation — and, by extension, the constitution — is at a “tipping point.”

Neville said that “when you lay it out, you’ve got 10 people who were massacred while grocery shopping on a Saturday afternoon at Topps in Buffalo, New York… ten days later, 19 children and two teachers were murdered inside their classroom.”

“In each incident, the shooter was an 18-year-old male, the murder weapon in each incident a semi-automatic rifle, AR-15-style firearms,” she continued. “Are we at social change tipping point? Because that is what it’s going to take for lawmakers to pay attention when the people speak and speak loudly.”

Citing former President Donald Trump’s speech at the NRA convention in Houston, Texas, the duo argued that “sensible gun reform” should be a bipartisan effort.

“Again, is this the point when Americans unite?” asked Neville. “Because bullet forensics never list Democrat, Republican or otherwise. Doesn’t sensible gun reform potentially protect us all?”

At a time when America desperately needs to hear concise, factual debate on fundamental issues affecting both sides of the political spectrum, both of Neville’s segments could have easily aired on CNN or MSNBC — and left-leaning media outlets were quick to jump on the story, adding to the narrative that the majority of Americans actually support an unconstitutional gun grab, and those who don’t are extremists.

Both Mediaite and HuffPost praised Neville for “breaking ranks” with her conservative colleagues, and online, Twitter users are bashing Fox News for not having more anchors like her.

“Quit your job, Arthel, because your employers are *never* gonna agree with you,” tweeted one user. “Extremism is too lucrative.”


So, while calling for “unification,” what Neville has actually achieved is to amplify the notion that Fox News and its viewers are far-right radicals.

Thanks, Arthel. Way to be “fair and balanced.”

Melissa Fine
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