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A CNN town hall event about guns with President Obama at George Mason University is closed to the students and the general public, according to an email sent to students.
“CNN is hosting a Town Hall with President Barack Obama on Thursday, Jan. 7, in the Johnson Center. This is an invitation-only event. No tickets are available,” wrote Renell Wynn, vice president of communications and marketing for the university, which is located just outside of Washington, D.C.
University spokesman Michael Sandler told TheBlaze that the town hall on guns is “planned and hosted by CNN” and that the school’s “only role” is to “provide the venue.”
A CNN spokesman informed the Washington Post, “the audience would be evenly divided between organizations that support the Second Amendment including NRA members as well as groups that back gun regulation.”
However, the NRA announced on Wednesday that it will not be participating in the event. “The National Rifle Association sees no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle organized by the White House,” NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandum told CNN Wednesday.
“At a briefing this afternoon, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that the town hall will include people who agree and disagree with the president’s views on gun violence. As to the control protocols, Earnest said, ‘We’ve consulted with CNN about who will be in the audience but ultimately it’s CNN who is making the call about who will participate,’” the Washington Post reported.
John Hill, a student at George Mason University who hosts a conservative radio program, told TheBlaze, “The president has been to our school before and they always leave it open to the public and students,” he said. “But those are events where he gets to talk. All of a sudden, he holds an event where the audience gets to talk and now the event is closed to the public and it is invitation only. Doesn’t sound like a town hall to me, sounds like a show.”
Image Credit: Townhall.com