WASHINGTON—US gun rights advocates have signed a White House petition
calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported for allegedly
attacking the Second Amendment rights of ordinary Americans.
The outspoken former British tabloid editor has launched
something of a personal crusade for greater gun control measures in the
wake of the December 14 massacre at Sandy Hook elementary in Newtown,
Connecticut.
On Tuesday, Morgan held an especially contentious interview with
executive director of Gun Owners of America Larry Pratt, appearing to
become incensed and incredulous when Pratt suggested more, not fewer,
weapons as the solution.
“You’re an unbelievably stupid man, aren’t you?” Morgan said at
one point during the heated debate. “You have absolutely no coherent
argument. You don’t actually give a damn about the gun murder rate in
America.”
Following the interview, a Texas journalist posted
a petition on
the White House website alleging Morgan “is engaged in a hostile attack
against the US Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment.”
“We demand that Mr. Morgan be deported immediately for his effort
to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a
national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of
American citizens,” it says.
Many Americans believe in the literal interpretation of the
Second Amendment, which enshrines the “right to bear arms” in the US
constitution.
Morgan insists America can outlaw military-style assault weapons
and high-capacity magazines without infringing on people’s
constitutional rights and says he has no quarrel with the Second
Amendment.
Two days after the petition calling for Morgan’s deportation was
posted, it had already garnered more than 19,000 signatures, closing in
quickly on the 25,000 required to get a response from the White House.
A defiant Morgan refused to back down from his position.
“Ironic U.S. gun rights campaign to deport me for ‘attacking 2nd
Amendment rights’ – is my opinion not protected under 1st Amendment
rights?,” he posted on his Twitter feed Saturday, referring to freedom
of speech provisions.
Morgan continued to post incendiary comments on the gun control
debate, including a response on Sunday morning to an NBC interview with a
top official in the powerful pro-gun lobby group, the National Rifle
Association.
“Watching @davidgregory expose Wayne
Lapierre for what he is – a dangerous, dim-witted, deluded menace to
American safety. @NRA,” Morgan tweeted.
At least some Americans have come out in support of British citizen.
In one message, reposted by Morgan, Lee Cox
in Arizona wrote: “I’m a native-born US citizen, and I agree 100% with
Mr. Morgan. If he goes back to the UK, should I go with him?”
America has suffered an epidemic of gun
violence over the last three decades including 62 mass shooting
incidents since 1982. The vast majority of weapons used have been
semi-automatic weapons obtained legally by the killers.
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