Anybody who has been watching “Piers Morgan Tonight†on CNN since the shootings at the Sandy Hook elementary school could discern he is no fan of guns, but on Tuesday night he made it clear that he doesn't much like the people who own them either.
Interviewing Larry Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America, he went off on Mr. Pratt in a way that rarely occurs outside some of the more rugged reality shows on television.
Mr. Pratt was making the argument that what America needed was more guns, not fewer, than the 300 million already in circulation, and that schools need serious weaponry on hand to meet the threat of force like the one in Newtown, Conn., last week. When Mr. Pratt digressed into a rather tortured argument to explain away lower murder rates in Europe, where gun ownership is far more restrictive, Mr. Morgan erupted.
“You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you?†Mr. Morgan said. (The clip above picks up the action right before then.)
Mr. Pratt did not take the bait, calmly continuing to elucidate his argument. “It seems to me you are morally obtuse,†he told Mr. Morgan. “You seem to prefer being a victim to being able to prevail over the criminal element. I don't know why you want to be the criminal's friend.â€
To which Mr. Morgan responded: “What a ridiculous argument. You have absolutely no coherent argument. You don't actually give a damn about the gun murder rate in America.â€
It was a bit of a moment, watching a talk show host losing it talking to one of his guests. It's clear that advocates for the rights of gun owners should expect very tough sledding if they agree to a slot on Piers Morgan in the future.
