You can’t invoke the Second Amendment and violate the First

Jan 10, 2013 05:05 GMT  ·  By

For the past few weeks or so, there’s been a lot of uproar over comments made by CNN host Piers Morgan on his talk show in relation to gun control. A petition was started with the White House to have him deported back to the UK but, according to the official response, it won’t happen.

The controversy began after the Sandy Hook shooting, when Morgan held a gun control debate on his show, and came across as one of the most vocal supporters of the need to have stricter gun regulation.

A petition was immediately started by those who disagreed with him, getting well over the 25,000 signatures required for the White House to consider it – about four times that number, to be a bit more exact.

In a statement, Official White House Response to Deport British Citizen Piers Morgan for Attacking 2nd Amendment, White House Secretary Jay Carney notes that deportation won’t happen because that would mean violating the Constitution’s First Amendment.

“Let’s not let arguments over the Constitution’s Second Amendment violate the spirit of its First. President Obama believes that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. However, the Constitution not only guarantees an individual right to bear arms, but also enshrines the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press — fundamental principles that are essential to our democracy,” Carney says.

“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,” the White House official adds.

Carney goes on to note that President Obama himself has talked about the need to reduce gun violence through whatever means available.

Piers Morgan is yet to respond on the White House’s stance on the deportation petition. Knowing him, he probably will be doing just that on his next show.