By: Daniel Nardini
One of the hosts of CNN, Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan, a well-known British journalist and television host, has made his opinion on guns and gun control well known. He wishes to see all guns in the United States banned. He has every right to voice his opinion. To put it mildly he has been condemned for these views. He received more than his fair share of this condemnation on the Alex Jones radio talk show when Alex Jones lambasted Morgan on the issue of guns. My readers can access this interview (if one can call it that) on their computers or on library computers. Because of Morgan’s views on guns, a petition has been circulating calling for Piers Morgan to be deported from the U.S. Well over 100,000 people had signed this petition.
By law, the White House has to make a response on any petition garnering over 100,000 signatures. A White House spokes-person commented that the White House will not even remotely consider any deportation of Morgan for exercising First Amendment free speech. I have to agree with that. Whatever Morgan’s views on gun control, he has a right to voice them in any capacity. This is American constitutional free speech. It is not hate speech, but his personal opinion on guns. At this time, I have no real opinion on guns. I personally do not like guns. I do believe people who are of sound mind have the right to own guns (minus multi-clip semi-automatic weapons) since this is in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, there are many, many Americans who are either for some form of gun control or for banning guns altogether—not too different from Morgan’s opinion.
What does bother me however is that there are some nutty right wing extremists who seem to be forgetting that the U.S. Constitution does allow freedom of speech. This basic right does extend to non-U.S. citizens as well as Americans. We may disagree with a person’s opinion, but to jail, threaten or deport a person for expressing that opinion is a slippery slope to a dictatorship. To me that is the greater danger than gun control versus gun ownership. Piers Morgan should have the right to express his opinion without threats or harm. He should NOT be deported for simply expressing an opinion. I find it disgusting that there are right wing loonies who seem to think that no other opinion matters except their own. In my book this is one of the reasons why the Republicans lost the last presidential election. Piers Morgan should not only be allowed to stay, but should be respected for following the U.S. Constitution. To me, the greatest danger to this republic is not guns or gun control, but the threat of taking away free speech, or rather denying it, to people based on their opinions, their nationality or class background.
About Piers Morgan
By: Daniel Nardini
By law, the White House has to make a response on any petition garnering over 100,000 signatures. A White House spokes-person commented that the White House will not even remotely consider any deportation of Morgan for exercising First Amendment free speech. I have to agree with that. Whatever Morgan’s views on gun control, he has a right to voice them in any capacity. This is American constitutional free speech. It is not hate speech, but his personal opinion on guns. At this time, I have no real opinion on guns. I personally do not like guns. I do believe people who are of sound mind have the right to own guns (minus multi-clip semi-automatic weapons) since this is in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, there are many, many Americans who are either for some form of gun control or for banning guns altogether—not too different from Morgan’s opinion.
What does bother me however is that there are some nutty right wing extremists who seem to be forgetting that the U.S. Constitution does allow freedom of speech. This basic right does extend to non-U.S. citizens as well as Americans. We may disagree with a person’s opinion, but to jail, threaten or deport a person for expressing that opinion is a slippery slope to a dictatorship. To me that is the greater danger than gun control versus gun ownership. Piers Morgan should have the right to express his opinion without threats or harm. He should NOT be deported for simply expressing an opinion. I find it disgusting that there are right wing loonies who seem to think that no other opinion matters except their own. In my book this is one of the reasons why the Republicans lost the last presidential election. Piers Morgan should not only be allowed to stay, but should be respected for following the U.S. Constitution. To me, the greatest danger to this republic is not guns or gun control, but the threat of taking away free speech, or rather denying it, to people based on their opinions, their nationality or class background.