Shooting Straight: Piers Morgan V America's Gun Lobby (VIDEO)

Piers Morgan's ongoing battle with the American gun lobby, expressed in often bruising debates with gun rights activists on his CNN show, has won the British-born host as many friends as it has enemies. Well, almost as many friends...

Over the past two years, a period which has seen some of the worst mass gun violence in American history, Morgan's combative style and willingness to dismiss the often facile arguments of America’s well-funded gun lobby, has sparked a backlash from Conservative bloggers and on Twitter, with some of his opponents even organising a White House petition to have the journalist deported from US shores.

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On Thursday, Morgan's latest book, Shooting Straight: Guns, Gays, God and George Clooney , hits the shops, detailing much of the author's battle over gun rights.

In one extract, he describes a typically difficult encounter with Alex Jones, a far-right conspiracy theorist who likened contemporary attempts to limit firearms with the American revolution of 1776.

Morgan writes:

Tonight’s guest Alex Jones arrived just before we went live on air, and was already working himself into a fearful frenzy – stomping around my studio, sweating profusely, and talking to himself like a UFC cage fighter seconds before a fight started.

“Why do you want me deported?” I asked when the interview began.

And off he went, ranting and raving like a gorilla at the zoo that’s just seen the morning bucket of bananas arrive.

“Hitler took the guns, Stalin took the guns, Mao took the guns, Fidel Castro took the guns, Hugo Chavez took the guns. And I’m here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try and take our firearms!”

I sensed that Jones’s extraordinary behaviour was turning into a more powerful advocate for gun control than anything I could possibly say. He owns 50 guns – a comforting thought.

Here's are some of Morgan's biggest clashes over American gun rights.

• 1
  

  Piers V Ben Ferguson

  
  

  Morgan takes on in-house CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson over Iowa’s decision to allow blind people to carry guns. The Brit’s exasperation here is pointed…

  
  


• 2
  

  Piers V Jesse Ventura

  
  

  Morgan clashes with the former WWF wrestler turned politician in front of a live studio audience. Ventura is known for his odd views, but he calmly argues with the former Mirror man coming out at least on terms if not on top…

  
  


• 3
  

  Piers V Loesch And Hughes

  
  

  The ladies really get under Morgan’s fingernails in this one, leaving the British host to proclaim at the end of the interview that the pair make him “sick”.

  
  


• 4
  

  Piers V Pizza Guy

  
  

  A pizza shop owner offers a 15% discount for patrons who come into his restaurant wearing a firearm. Unfortunately the man can barely string a sentence together and Morgan duly makes quick work of him.

  
  


• 5
  

  Piers V John Lott

  
  

  Morgan bullies this hapless gun rights activist who refuses to answer the host's questions. “I’m going to keep talking so I suggest you keep quiet,” says Morgan before skewering his opponent.

  
  


• 6
  

  Piers V Ted Nugent

  
  

  Morgan heads to Texas to take on hat-wearing rocker Ted Nugent. It starts well, but quickly gets heated. “You are so full of crap,” shouts Nugent, before telling Morgan “would you leave us the hell alone…”

  
  


• 7
  

  Piers V Alan Gottlieb

  
  

  This gun rights activist starts to smirk while Morgan reads out a quote from a family member of the Newtown massacre. “How dare you, how dare you laugh."

  
  


• 8
  

  Piers V Alex Jones

  
  

  This is a strong one, with right wing conspiracy peddler Alex Jones petitioning the US government to have Morgan deported from the US.