Florida school shooting: Piers Morgan hit by MAJOR backlash after renewing US gun debate
TV PRESENTER and journalist Piers Morgan has thrown his weight behind reopening the debate on gun control in America following the mass shooting at a US high school in Florida.
Florida shooting: Man appears to be handcuffed by police
At least 17 people have died and dozens more are injured after a man, wearing a gas mask, opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shortly after 2pm local time (7pm GMT) just as students were preparing to leave for the day.
There have been a total of 18 school shootings in the US so far in 2018.
Piers Morgan, who passionately campaigned for a change in gun laws when he presented a late-night show on CNN in America between 2011 and 2014, has now once again called for a review.
He first pushed for law changes in 2012 when 20 children between the ages of six and seven were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a lone shooter.
Piers Morgan has called for a change to gun laws in the US following the high school shooting
Speaking on Twitter Mr Morgan said: “After Sandy Hook, I called for America to ban AR-15s & high-capacity bullet magazines.
“NRA [National Rifle Association] gun nuts ensured nothing was done.
"Today, another deranged kid used an AR-15 and high-capacity magazines to annihilate at least 17 more people in a school.”
The local sheriff has said the suspect in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, named as former student Nikolas Cruz, was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
Piers Morgan’s intervention on gun violence has been met with mixed reactions as some people reacting angrily to the immediate call for changes to the law and have accused campaigners of trying to “politicise” the tragedy.
After Sandy Hook, I called for America to ban AR-15s & high-capacity bullet magazines.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 14, 2018
NRA gun nuts ensured nothing was done.
Today, another deranged kid used an AR-15 & high-capacity magazines to annihilate at least 17 more people in a school.
In one furious response to the presenter’s tweet, Michael Mahoney said: “You are f***ing parasite who needs to be deported or better yet show in the head.
“Let these people grieve for God’s sake.”
Meanwhile, Robin Bellocchio replied: “It’s a horrific day in America, stop politicising it for gun control.
“I own four, my guns never killed anything but a target at the range.”
There have been a total of 18 school shootings in the US so far in 2018
However, Piers Morgan is not the only one who has publicly spoken out about the need for gun reform following the most recent attack.
Twitter user Kaivan Shroff said: “There have only been 31 school days in 2018.
“Today’s shooting in Parkland, Florida, is the 18th school shooting in America this year.
“That means, on any given school day, there is a three in five chance a school shooting will take place.
“This has to stop.”
There have only been 31 school days in 2018.
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) February 14, 2018
Today’s shooting in Parkland, Florida, is the 18th school shooting in America this year.
That means, on any given school day, there is a 3 in 5 chance a school shooting will take place.
This has to stop. #GunControl
It has been reported three of the eight deadliest mass shootings in US modern history have happened in the last five months.
Reporter David Willis added that there is not enough political will to reform US gun laws despite “at least 283 school shootings across the US since January 2013”.
The right to own a gun is enshrined in the US Constitution under the 2nd Amendment and has long been a contentious issue in the country.
Some people have called for guns to be banned, others have argued for a reduction in the type of guns US citizens can legally own, while others have argued for more background checks before someone is allowed to purchase a weapon.
The suspect was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle
In defence of the Second Amendment, another person argued the shooter rather than the weapon is to be blamed.
Land Guy said: “We don’t want gun control.
“We want better personnel in schools, not people with a secure state job.
“This was preventable, this kid was known to be dangerous.”
It’s a horrific day in America, stop politicizing it for gun control. I own 4, my guns never killed anything but a target at the range.
— robin bellocchio (@RobinBellocchio) February 14, 2018
The National Rifle Association are yet to give an official statement in response to the Florida shooting.
Yesterday morning they retweeted a message on Twitter encouraging people to buy guns for their loved ones for Valentines Day.
They have since deleted the tweet.
The suspect in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting is now in police custody, according to a spokesman for the Broward County Sheriff, following a dramatic showdown around a mile away from the school.