Yesterday, in the wake of the vigorous debate between Piers Morgan and Alex Jones regarding gun control, the Obama Administration responded to the We The People Petition filed to have Piers Morgan deported. In a recorded statement, President Obama stressed the importance of maintaining respect for individual gun ownership mandated through the Second Amendment, stating that “we have a strong tradition of gun ownership handed down from generation to generation.” He also encouraged viewers to take action in supporting legislation he has introduced to start “banning the sale of military style assault weapons, and high capacity ammunition clips.” (video) While Obama refrained from mentioning the deportation petition, Press Secretary Jay Carney addressed it more specifically.
In an official response to the We The People Petition filed and supported by over 100,000 signatures, Carney made several points as to why Piers Morgan should not be deported. He stated: “Americans may disagree on matters of public policy and express those disagreements vigorously, but no one should be punished by the government simply because he or she expressed a view on the Second Amendment, or any other matter of public concern.” He also made an important point to balance respect for different parts of the Constitution by stating “Let’s not let arguments over the Constitution’s Second Amendment violate the spirit of its First.”(nyo) This response was welcomed, not surprisingly, by Piers Morgan, and he expressed his pleasure in a tweet following the statements.
There has been wild speculation about the outcome of the deportation petition, and whether Alex Jones or Mr. Morgan won the debate on CNN this past Monday night. With these supportive statements, and now the involvement of the President, Piers Morgan may have made a clever decision in having Alex Jones on his show after all.
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