Deporting Piers Morgan
Telegraph
Should Piers Morgan be expelled from the United States?
Um . . . well, the 9 PM time slot on CNN couldn’t possibly get any worse, could it?
Actually, that might not be the right phrasing to save the obnoxious British television host. The real question is whether it would be legal, appropriate or even possible to do so. The answer to that question is obviously not. So, why the attention paid to a White House petition that demands Morgan be deported in response to pro gun control comments that he made in the aftermath of Newtown?
Nearly 85,000 Americans have so far signed their names to the document which insists:
British Citizen and CNN television host Piers Morgan is engaged in a hostile attack against the U.S. Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment. We demand that Mr. Morgan be deported immediately for his effort to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens.
Even right of center commentators have been outraged about this, including both Megan McArdle and Eugene Volokh. After all, this seems to be a fundamental attack on freedom of speech. Even though the White House petition process is essentially meaningless, (if 25,000 signatures are gathered within a certain time, a response is promised but nothing more), it is disturbing that this many people want someone deported for holding a controversial view. But it isn’t about gun control.
Plenty of prominent public figures have expressed opinions on gun control since the Newtown tragedy and White House petitions and online campaigns haven’t been launched against them. It’s not just that Morgan is pro-gun control but that he’s pro-gun control and quite pompous. It’s not just Morgan’s political views that these signatories find objectionable but his personality too. Being a jerk though, obviously, is not grounds for deportation either, but it means this simply shouldn’t be viewed a single minded ideological crusade.
Those who want to get rid of Morgan should be anxious though. A new White House petition has already been launched with 3,800 British signatories insisting that the CNN host and former British newspaper editor stay in the United States. Two reasons are given. The first is the First Amendment, the second is that the United Kingdom doesn’t want Morgan back.
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