The West Wing has done it again! Am I referring to its Emmy wins? No, I'm talking about its one-sided portrayal of political issues. In a tactic going back to Galileo, the writers of The West Wing present only the barest, poorest arguments to their ideological beliefs in an attempt to convince watchers that their point of view is the only one that makes sense.

In the latest episode, the writers concoct an imaginary situation in which a legally concealed weapon used to stop a mass shooting at a church in Texas is instead directly responsible for the wounding (and later death) of a 9 year-old girl. Which follows, not surprisingly, are the typical left-wing arguments against concealed carry. Though the Vice President claims to support gun rights (being a Texan himself), not a single argument is presented in the show to back up his "belief". "Why do they have to be concealed?" the President asks. "I don't know," the Vice Prez answers. Maybe so that not only will weapon snatches be avoided, but also so that everyone can benefit, since criminals know that some people are armed, they just can't be sure who. Why "shall-issue" instead of "may-issue"? Maybe because giving that kind of arbitrary power in the hands of some anti-gun law enforcement officials ends up meaning that no one, no matter how deserving or needful, will get one. But I wouldn't expect reasoned and intelligent opposition to leftist opinions on this show about a Democratic administration penned by left-wing writers and producers.