Please don't kick out Piers, we don't want
him back! British critics launch counter-petition to make sure he stays in U.S.
·
A petition to have the journalist deported after he
criticised pro gun campaigners has attracted 71,000 signatures
·
Now a second petition saying he must stay because the
British do not want him also has around 1,100 votes of support
By TOM LEONARD
o
First Piers Morgan became the subject of a petition calling for
him to be deported from the US for upsetting the gun lobby there.
Now a counter-petition has been started, asking for America to
keep him – not because he’s popular there but (allegedly) because no one here
wants him back.
The broadcaster is at the centre of a row after criticising
pro-gun campaigners on his nightly US chat show in the wake of the Sandy Hook
elementary school massacre, in which 20 children and six adults were shot dead.
More than 72,000 Americans have so far signed a petition on the
White House website calling for him to be kicked out.
A campaign to have Piers Morgan deported from America faced a new
hurdle yesterday as critics of the television presenter launched a counter bid
to keep him where he is
But a second petition on the same website now insists he must stay
in the US, not only because he has a constitutional right to free speech but
also – ‘more important’ – because ‘no one in the UK wants him back’.
So far, just over 400 people have signed the ‘Keep Piers Morgan in
the USA’ petition so it has some way to go before it reaches the 25,000
signatures which guarantees a response from the US government.
It was proposed by Janusz Jasinski, a Birmingham-based website
designer. To add to the former newspaper editor’s embarrassment, a third
petition is calling on Home Secretary Theresa May to stop him from returning to
Britain.
More...
Appearing on the US website Change.org it has so far attracted
more than 100 signatures and states: ‘We got rid of him once and why should we
have to suffer again.
The Americans wanted him so they should put up with him.’ This
petition was written by ‘Hackergate’, alias delivery driver Steven Nott, who
gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry about how he tried to raise the alarm in
1999 about how mobile phones could be easily hacked. Last week Morgan
repeatedly attacked pro-gun guests on his CNN show.
More than 71,000 Americans have already signed an initial petition
calling for the British journalists deportation after he criticised pro-gun
campaigners on his chat show
Now a second petition on the White House website now insists he
must stay in the US, not only because he has a constitutional right to free
speech but also 'more important' because 'no one in the UK wants him back'
In a heated exchange with Larry Pratt, of Gun Owners for America,
Morgan called him an ‘idiot’, ‘dangerous’ and an ‘unbelievably stupid man’
after he argued that more guns would actually cut crime.
In another debate on gun controls, Morgan shouted down economist
John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime and branded him a liar for claiming
gun crime trends in countries such as Britain supported his thesis.
With CNN reportedly about to overhaul its prime time line-up and
possibly move Morgan to a later slot, the combative presenter has not commented
on the row since Christmas Day, when he tweeted: ‘Merry Christmas! Even to
those who want me deported.’
He has stood by what he said, insisting that banning assault
weapons and high-capacity gun magazines is no attack on the US Constitution but
simple common sense.
Go home: How the Mail reported the story yesterday
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