White House Petition to Deport Piers Morgan Passes Signature Requirement

Petitions require 25,000 signatures to get the White House to respond. This one has gone way past that. Send the blowhard back to England, where they’ve confiscated all the guns, and the crime rate is soaring. The White House’s response will be something like” this is part of the ‘conversation’ on gun control” or something similarly vapid, but it’s nice to know a lot of people would like to see him sent packing.

James Taranto informs Morgan that his speech is protected under the First Amendment, but his presence in the U.S. is not:

The petition has already netted more than 13,000 signatures one day after its launch, putting it well on pace to reach its goal of 25,000. That’s the threshold at which the Obama administration has promised to respond to online petitions submitted on the White House website, provided they reach that number in 30 days.

“Ironic U.S. gun rights campaign to deport me for ‘attacking 2nd Amendment rights’ – is my opinion not protected under 1st Amendment rights?,” Morgan tweeted.

“Your opinion is protected, your presence in the U.S. is not. See Kleindienst v. Mandel (1972),” Taranto replied to Morgan.

Taranto linked to transcripts from a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. Attorney General’s refusal to allow a foreign journalist into the United States did not violate the First Amendment. The case resulted from Nixon administration attorney general Richard Kleindienst’s refusal to grant a temporary nonimmigrant visa to Marxist Belgian journalist Ernest Mandel.

Taranto’s tweet was praised by Twitter users who would like to send Morgan back to his native land

“I knew there was a reason I’ve liked you for years,” tweeter Lee Dodson said to Taranto. “Excellent shot across this silly Brit’s bow. Well done.”