Piers Morgan got in one last word in favor of gun control during the final episode of his CNN program on Friday, and called for the complete disarmament of the American citizenry: "As my brother, a British army colonel, says, 'You always want an American next to you in a trench when the going gets tough.' But that's where, I think, guns belong...in the hands of highly-trained men and women fighting for democracy and freedom, not in the hands of civilians."
Morgan blasted the NRA by name and politicians for standing in the way of his pet cause: "The gun lobby in America, lead by the NRA, has bullied this nation's politicians into cowardly, supine silence." He cited Winston Churchill for inspiring his stand, and even claimed that his campaign was pro-American: [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]
PIERS MORGAN: ...This is a shameful situation that, frankly, has made me very angry – so angry, in fact, that some people are criticizing me for being too loud, opinionated – even rude when I've debated the issue of guns. But I make no apologies for that. As Sir Winston Churchill said, 'If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver – hit the point once, then come back and hit it again. Then, hit it a third time – a tremendous whack.'
My point is simple: more guns doesn't mean less crime, as the NRA repeatedly tries to tell you. It means more gun violence, more death, and more profits for the gun manufacturers. And to those who claim my gun control campaigning has been anti-American – well, the reverse I true. I'm so pro-American, I want more of you to stay alive.
The MRC's Geoffrey Dickens pointed out some of the worst examples of Morgan's anti-Second Amendment diatribes in a March 24, 2014 study. Back in December 2012, the host slammed Larry Pratt of the Gun Owners of America as "an unbelievably stupid man....[and] a dangerous man espousing dangerous nonsense...you shame your country." A month later, the native of the U.K. sneered at conservative author Ben Shapiro, who came on to defend gun rights:
MORGAN: The way that the NRA through the '80s and '90s and this last decade have deliberately tried to frame this as a left-wing attack on the American Constitution and the Second Amendment — it's exactly what you've tried to do. You come in, you brandish your little book [holds up book] as if I don't know what's in that-
BEN SHAPIRO: My little book? That's the Constitution of the United States.
Ta ta, Piers. Freedom-loving Americans are not going to miss your extreme opposition to the constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms.
The transcript of Piers Morgan's commentary from Friday's Piers Morgan Live on CNN:
PIERS MORGAN: Regular viewers will know that the issue of gun control has been a consistent and often very controversial part of this show. And I want to say something more about that before I bow out. I've lived and worked in America for much of the past decade. It's a magnificent country – a land of true opportunity that affords anyone, even British chaunceys like me, the opportunity to live the American dream. The vast majority of Americans are very decent, hardworking, thoroughly dependable people. As my brother, a British army colonel, says, 'You always want an American next to you in a trench when the going gets tough.'
But that's where, I think, guns belong: on a military battlefield – in the hands of highly-trained men and women fighting for democracy and freedom – not in the hands of civilians. The scourge of gun violence is a disease that now infects every aspect of American life. Each day, on average, 35 people in this country are murdered with guns; another 50 kill themselves with guns; and 200 more are shot, but survive. That's 100,000 people a year hit by gunfire in America.
Now, I assumed that after 70 people were shot in a movie theater; and then, just a few months later, 20 first-graders were murdered with an assault rifle in an elementary school – that the absurd gun laws in this country would change, but nothing has happened. The gun lobby in America, lead by the NRA, has bullied this nation's politicians into cowardly, supine silence – even when 20 young children are blown away in their classrooms.
This is a shameful situation that, frankly, has made me very angry – so angry, in fact, that some people are criticizing me for being too loud, opinionated – even rude when I've debated the issue of guns. But I make no apologies for that. As Sir Winston Churchill said, 'If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver – hit the point once, then come back and hit it again. Then, hit it a third time – a tremendous whack.'
My point is simple: more guns doesn't mean less crime, as the NRA repeatedly tries to tell you. It means more gun violence, more death, and more profits for the gun manufacturers. And to those who claim my gun control campaigning has been anti-American – well, the reverse I true. I'm so pro-American, I want more of you to stay alive. But I've made my point. I've given it a tremendous whack.
Now, it's down to you. It is your country. These are your gun laws. And the senseless slaughter will only end when enough Americans stand together and cry, enough! I look forward to that day. I also look forward to seeing you all again soon. Thank you, and God bless America. Oh, and while I'm at it, God bless Great Britain, too. Good night.
[Update, Friday, 11:12 pm Eastern: Liberal NBC News legal analyst Lisa Bloom applauded Morgan on Twitter for pro-gun control diatribe: "Bravo @PiersMorgan for signing off with a strong message against the gun violence that kills or wounds 100,000 per year in America."]
