CNN: Heated Debate on Gun Control After Mass Shooting

In the aftermath of the Newtown, CT school shooting, Piers Morgan leads a heated debate regarding gun control with his guests who included: Congressman Gerald Nadler (D-NY); John Richard Lott Jr., gun advocate, economist and political commentator; Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; and Steve Dulan, head of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners.

Piers Morgan has been vocal for years regarding gun control and the need for stricter gun control laws in the United States and last night was no exception.

He started the debate by contronting gun advocate John Lott demanding to know exactly when the gun rights people will finally accept the need for more gun control laws in the wak of shootings in a elementary school, a house of worship and a movie theater – all in the same year.

Morgan went on to ask exactly why a kindergarten teacher with a “clearly deranged son” in her house needed three guns to include a semi-automatic weapon. Lott tried to wave off his question by attempting to explain the mechanics and appearance of semi-automatic weapons. However, he was quickly interupted by Morgan who interjected that the shooter had fired off a hundred rounds in a matter of minutes. Morgan, then clearly angry, raised his voice yelling: “At what point do you gun lobby guys say, ‘We get it, it’s time for change'”.

Incredulously, Lott answered that the answer is to reduce the number of gun laws and that more guns would create more safety.

Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign, called Lott’s statement “pure bunk” and went on to explain that in talking to people who had witnessed similar shootings, in no instance did he ever speak to anyone who thought more guns would have helped the situation.

At this point, gun advocate Steve Dulan of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners tried to argue that “the only way to stop an evil person” is to shoot that individual.

After a heated exchange between all the panelists, Congressman Nadler pointed out that every other industrialized nation on earth had reasonable gun control laws in place and experienced significantly fewer deaths than in the United States as a consequence. Lott tried to press his case again leading to Morgan yelling at him:

“Stop telling me the answer is more guns, it is not the answer!… So you want more guns, not less. 300 million guns in America is not enough for you. How many kids have to die before you guys say, ‘We want less guns, not more’”?

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