Ever the investigative talk show host, Piers Morgan decided that he needed to take his show on a road trip on Monday night. He parked at Tactical Firearms in Katy, Texas, to figure out why exactly gun rights activists care about civilians owning assault rifles.
His instructors helped him get on his knees to fire a Browning M2, a gun that has the ability to shoot up to 900 rounds per minute. The fully-automatic machine gun is legal, Morgan said, because it was made prior to the passing of the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act.
When he fired at the target, Morgan held down the trigger and fired for a solid 16 seconds, or up to 240 bullets, give or take.
“Why would any civilian need, want one of these?” he asked immediately after he stopped shooting.
One of his instructors gave Piers an explanation that the gun is actually an investment.
“I purchased one of these a while back for about $12,000 and sold it for $45,000,” the man said. “It’s obviously too expensive to shoot. It’s just the investment point.”
According to the instructor, a prospective gun owner must pay $200 and fill out the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form for the Department of Justice prior to legally purchasing a Browning M2.
Morgan also invited rock musician and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent on Monday’s show. The rocker was less than thrilled with the talk show host’s position on gun ownership.
“I think you’re obsessed with guns,” Nugent said. “99.99 percent of the gun owners of America are wonderful people that you are hanging around with here today.”
Nugent told Morgan to go after the “nutjobs” and “murderers,” and asked him to “leave us the hell alone.”
When Morgan said he would not drop the topic, Nugent responded that they “appreciated” it.
“You’re the perfect poster boy to stand up for the things that make no sense at all to common sense people,” Nugent said.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FijmgMpsWc?list=UUupvZG-5ko_eiXAupbDfxWw]
