Nothing says “irony” quite like a British
aristocrat lecturing Americans about their
liberties.
That’s exactly what U.K. journalist and
frequent blowhard Piers Morgan did early Sunday
morning, but conservative commentator Ben
Shapiro quickly put him in his place.
Morgan was replying to a Twitter post by pundit
Tomi Lahren. “Simply being anti-NRA is not
a solution,” she correctly pointed out about
the protesters who have strangely singled
out the gun ownership group as the epitome
of evil.
“March FOR something, not just against everything,”
Lahren continued.
It’s a decent point: Even if the people
participating in “March For Our Lives”
events truly believe that guns are the root
cause of violence, they seem to be suspiciously
devoid of actual ideas and proposals. The
entire spectacle seems to be high on vitriol
and low on solutions.
Piers Morgan apparently couldn’t stand someone
defending the NRA, and jumped in to sanctimoniously
scold Lahren.
“They’re marching for the right to save
their lives from the NRA’s disgusting, gun-slathering,
death-inducing propaganda,” the British
media mogul declared. “That’s something.”
We’ll get to how almost every word of that
statement is wrong in a moment. But first,
Ben Shapiro.
Not willing to let Piers Morgan twist American
freedoms into some sort of anti-Second Amendment
screed, Shapiro put his wry wit and intelligence
to use by hitting the Brit with a dose of
truth.
“They already had that right,” the conservative
figure shot back. “It’s enshrined in the
same little book I gave you years ago, right
before the Second Amendment. You really should
read that thing.”
Score: Shapiro 1, Morgan 0.
They already had that right. It’s enshrined
in that same little book I gave you years
ago, right before the Second Amendment. You
really should read that thing.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 25, 2018
Ben Shapiro was clearly being pithy, but his
jab rings true. The U.S. Constitution seems
completely foreign — literally — to Piers
Morgan, who sits on the other side of the
Atlantic wagging his finger at a far more
successful nation that told the British where
to go 242 years ago.
Both the First and Second Amendments are vitally
important. Nobody is shutting down the marchers
who wish to peacefully protest, because their
right to do so is enshrined in the same Constitution
that Morgan seems to hate so much.
Actually, armed and trained men were protecting
marchers as they demonstrated and spoke, even
though they may have disagreed about the message.
The First and Second Amendments complement
each other.
The simple fact is that keeping tyrannical
elites — whether British or homegrown — in
their place is exactly why the Second Amendment
was so important when it was written, and
continues to hold that relevance now.
You could even say that a pompous British
busy-body telling American citizens to give
up their guns is exactly why they shouldn’t
give up their guns. We’ve seen this movie
before, Piers.
The British fop’s statement doesn’t even
make much sense, but quickly falls apart in
the face of reality. Here it is again: “They’re
marching for the right to save their lives
from the NRA’s disgusting, gun-slathering,
death-inducing propaganda.”
How does marching create a “right to save
their lives?” A right is useless unless
it is backed up in the real world, which is
why the Second Amendment exists in the first
place.
Does Piers Morgan think that when faced with
a rampaging criminal bent on murder, holding
up your hands and saying “Stop, I have a
right to save my life” would do anything?
Here’s what he’s missing: People must
have the tools to defend their rights, which
is exactly why citizens own firearms.
To Morgan’s chagrin, demonstrators are actually
marching to take away the means for law-abiding
citizens to save their lives.
Then there’s “the NRA’s disgusting,
gun-slathering, death-inducing propaganda,”
in the hate-tinged words of Piers Morgan.
What “propaganda” would that be, Piers?
He seems to not have any idea about the organization
he’s attacking, but imagines law abiding
citizens as some sort of Nazis wearing SS
uniforms. Maybe he saw David Hogg’s Hitler-esque
salute and got confused.
In reality, the NRA is made up of ordinary
Americans who happen to own guns. Some hunt.
Others target shoot or own guns for self defense.
The NRA promotes training programs, education,
women’s defense classes, and safe gun handling.
The horror!
“Death-inducing propaganda?” Actually,
it’s the opposite: One of the programs that
the NRA helps support is JROTC. It was JROTC
students who helped save lives during the
Parkland shooting, bravely stepping up to
get others to safety. So much for that narrative.
That’s not even mentioning the fact that
as concealed carry and overall gun ownership
has increased, violent crime and murder in
America has declined, not risen.
It’s time to put bloviating anti-Second
Amendment figures like Piers Morgan in their
place. Facts, statistics, and reality are
powerful weapons… but a bit of Ben Shapiro-style
quipping comes in handy, too.
