I would have loved to have seen Morgan take that bait...
The correct response then would have been THEY ARE ALREADY BANNED PIERS AND LOOK HOW IT DOESNT WORK
Ed Morrissey of Hotair made the following observation on the exchange:
SHAPIRO: This is what I wanted to ask you, Piers, because I have seen you talk about assault weapons a lot, and I have seen Mark Kelly talk about assault weapons. The vast majority of murders in this country that are committed with guns are committed with handguns, they are not committed assault weapons. Are you willing to ban handguns in this country, across this country?
MORGAN: No, that’s not what I’m asking for.
SHAPIRO: Why not? Don’t you care about the kids who are being killed in Chicago as much as the kids in Sandy Hook?
That’s the exact kind of argument that Morgan uses on his guests, but can’t handle when used back on him. Morgan seemed completely unprepared for his own tactics to be used on himself, and for Shapiro’s preparation:
Where Jones proved needy of a background screening, Shapiro was rational and on point. Where Jones failed to directly address Morgan’s points, Shapiro went right at them. Where Jones monologued, Shapiro got through his points quickly and shut up.
All those skills came in handy as Morgan tried to trap Shapiro by noting that Ronald Reagan had supported curbs on assault weapons:
MORGAN: One of the great right-wing presidents of modern times agreed with me.
Shapiro’s priceless retort: “So?”
It’s what happens in a battle of wits when one side is only half-armed. In truth, it doesn’t take “extreme polemical agility” to beat a poorly-informed journalistic bully like Morgan … but it certainly helps.