Piers Morgan
Photographer: Getty Images
Copyright Getty Images
Posted: 12/24/2012
Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported from the U.S. over his gun control views.
Morgan has taken an aggressive stand for tighter U.S. gun laws in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting. Last week, he called a gun advocate appearing on his "Piers Morgan Tonight" show an "unbelievably stupid man."
Now, gun rights activists are fighting back. A petition created Dec. 21 on the White House e-petition website by a user in Texas accuses Morgan of engaging in a "hostile attack against the U.S. Constitution" by targeting the Second Amendment. It demands he be deported immediately for "exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens."
The petition has already hit the 25,000 signature threshold to get a White House response. By Monday, it had 31,813 signatures.
Morgan seemed unfazed -- and even amused -- by the movement.
In a series of Twitter messages, he alternately urged his followers to sign the petition and in response to one article about the petition said "bring it on" as he appeared to track the petition's progress.
"If I do get deported from America for wanting fewer gun murders, are there any other countries that will have me?" he wrote.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Arizona Events
Looking for something to do this weekend? We searched the Valley and found the best events going on.
Did You Hear?
There was a lot happening in the news around Arizona this past week. How much of it do you remember?
Did a woman capture photographic evidence of a UFO earlier this month?
Memorial Day weekend wouldn’t be the same without the backyard grill. The staple of backyard cooking isn’t just for meat either.