The gun control debate is on, and it is more heated than ever.
In the aftermath of the Connecticut school shooting, CNN’s Piers Morgan absolutely went OFF on guns and gun rights advocates on his program Friday.
Wherever you stand on the issue, this is a must-watch:
The conversation got heated when Morgan asked “why on Earth” anyone would advocate for more guns, given the unspeakable carnage at Sandy Hook.
“If we could suddenly make all guns disappear, I’d have a different position,” replied Steve Dulan of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners.
Dulan explained that because firearms last “several human lifetimes with minimal maintenance,” then the only way to stop shooters is with other guns.
“This is exactly the argument I’ve been hearing ever since I joined CNN," replied Morgan, noting that he joined CNN a week before Gabby Giffords was shot.
He’s not buying it, to say the least. "The argument I keep hearing is, ‘Well, if everybody else was armed, it wouldn’t happen.’ It’s a load of total hogwash!"
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who represents parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan, was also on the show and backed up Morgan’s claims with some statistics.
“The proof of the pudding is that in every other industrialized country in the world, other than the United States, they have reasonable gun control laws," he said.
“They have 100 people a year, not 9,000 or 10,000 a year, killed by guns."
Morgan argued that Americans should look to Scotland, where handguns were banned after a 1996 massacre in Dunblane in which 16 schoolchildren were killed.
Piers said countless firearms were taken off the street instantly, while gun-rights advocate John Lott responded that Scotland’s murder rate subsequently went up.
That sent Morgan through the roof.
“There are nearly 12,000 murders a year from guns in this country," he said. "When are you guys going to focus on that and stop telling me the answer is more guns. It is not the answer!"
"How many more kids have to die before you guys say, ‘We want less guns, not more.”
Lott fired back, saying “The gun-control laws that you’re pushing have killed people.”
The host dismissed Lott’s claim as “a load of nonsense,” and then he REALLY let loose.
"I’m so frustrated, so furious, that these kids have been blown away again with legally acquired weapons."
Of Adam Lanza, he said, "Some boy who’s got problems takes his mother’s three weapons, including a ridiculous assault rifle! And goes in a school and kills these kids,
"And you guys, the gun lobby still want to tell me the answer is more guns! It is madness!"
Is it? You tell us: Time for serious gun control legislation?