For the second time on Piers Morgan's CNN show, Breitbart's Ben Shapiro
got the better of his host as on Thursday he goaded Morgan into calling
for a British-style handgun ban in the U.S.
"You're from the UK, why don't we go with a full gun ban?" Shapiro
challenged Morgan, who, audibly flustered, admitted, "Listen, we've
discussed this. The UK has 40, 50 gun murders a year, America has 12,000. Why don't we try our way?" He then promptly switched the topic.
[Video below. Audio here [1].]
"I'm glad you finally let your agenda out there," Shapiro gloated. Just
before, Morgan denied wishing to infringe on the Second Amendment
rights of Americans: "I'm not remotely against people having
right to bear arms, I'm seriously against the right to have military
style assault weapons to blow kids' brains to pieces in school."
The two were discussing poll numbers showing 29 percent of Americans
affirming that "In the next few years, an armed revolution might be
necessary in order to protect our liberties." Shapiro placed some blame
for that fear at Morgan's feet.
"And
honestly, I think part of it is due to folks like you, Piers because,
you know, you go out of your way to really give the impression that
you're interested in taking away people's fundamental right to bear arms
and I think that scares a lot of folks," Shapiro insisted.
Back in January, Morgan scoffed [2]
at Shapiro using a pocket-sized Constitution on set as he argued
against gun control. "You come in. You brandish your little book as if I
don't know what's in there," Morgan sneered.
Shapiro had also attacked [3]
Morgan's gun crusade: "You tend to demonize people who differ from you
politically by standing on the graves of the children of Sandy Hook
saying they don't seem to care enough about the dead kids."
Below is a transcript of the segment, which aired on Piers Morgan Live on May 2 at 9:42 p.m. EDT:
[9:42]
PIERS MORGAN: But you personally believe, like a third of these people,
that you will need in the next few years, it says, you will need to
have weapons to take on your own government?
BEN SHAPIRO: I don't believe in the next few years. I believe that
there is always the possibility of government tyranny. I don't see that
happening in the next couple of years. I do think, Piers, I have to say,
I think the reason that there are so many folks who are talking about
the possibility of government tyranny is threefold really. It's the
Obama administration's increasing reliance on big government. And that, I
think threatens some people. I think it's folks like Alex Jones who do
this routine where every time they shut down a city like Boston because
of a terrorist attack, it's the end of the world and military law is at
hand.
And honestly, I think part of it is due to folks like you, Piers
because, you know, you go out of your way to really give the impression
that you're interested in taking away people's fundamental right to bear
arms and I think that scares a lot of folks.
MORGAN: Well no, I'm not – we've discussed this. I'm not remotely
against people having right to bear arms, I'm seriously against the
right to have military style assault weapons to blow kids' brains to
pieces in school.
SHAPIRO: I still don't understand your position on this, because you've
said you're against assault weapons, but you are okay with handguns.
Handguns kill 6,000 people a year. Assault weapons kill 300.
MORGAN: Well, they're both a big problem. Handguns and assault weapons with mass shootings.
SHAPIRO: You're from the UK, why don't we go with a full gun ban?
MORGAN: Listen, we've discussed this. The UK has 40, 50 gun murders a
year, America has 12,000. Why don't we try our way? Let's move on to
this. Jason Collins –
SHAPIRO: I'm glad you finally let your agenda out there.
-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center