Ted Nugent Blasts Piers Morgan, Defends Gun Owners: 'Would You Leave Us The Hell Alone?' (VIDEO)

Ted Nugent Blasts Piers Morgan On Gun Control: 'Would You Leave Us The Hell Alone?'

Ted Nugent got fired up while discussing gun control and gun ownership with Piers Morgan and pointedly asked the CNN host: "Would you leave us the hell alone?"

Morgan headed to Texas, where he met with the Detroit rocker and unabashed gun advocate for a sit-down at a local gun range. What materialized was an explosive interview in which Nugent accused Morgan of having an obsession with guns.

In the interview, which aired Monday, Morgan asked Nugent why anyone needs an assault weapon, to which Nugent replied that massacres are anomalies.

"It's a simple inanimate tool that tens of millions of American families own, that have never caused a problem, never had an accident and will never commit a crime," said the rocker, who previously has suggested he is ready for an armed revolt if the government were to attempt to take away his firearms. "You have the aberrations that are such a minute percentage."

Nugent then delved into his broader argument:

Morgan refuted the musician with statistics and said that 100,000 Americans are hit by gunfire every year. But Nugent went on the defensive.

"Do you care about murders? Or do you only care about about murders with guns?" he asked Morgan. "I don't think you do. I think you care about guns. You’re obsessed with guns."

Nugent went on to say,

99.99% of the gun owners of America are wonderful people that you are hanging around with here today. Perfectly safe. Perfectly harmless. Wonderful, loving, generous, giving, caring people. Would you leave us the hell alone? Go after the nut jobs, go after the murderers, because I don’t know any. We need to lock up the bad guys and when people show dangerous, murderous intent, which everyone one of these mass-murderers showed.

In the United States, gun ownership per 100 people surpasses any other nation in the world. The second-ranking country is Yemen, a fact Morgan used to quash Nugent's point that "An armed society, is a polite society."

In a separate interview with CNN's Deborah Feyerick, Nugent reiterated his gun-control argument. "It's not the weapons," he said. "The weapons had nothing to do with it. These weapons are in every pickup in Texas. People have to get past the hardware."

Nugent, a 64-year-old father of eight, has been staunchly against harsher gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. He blamed the massacre, that left dead 20 children between the ages of 6- and 7-years-old, on the "moral decay" of society.

"We live in an embarrassing, politically correct culture that exalts and rejoices in the bizarre; aggressively promotes an 'anything goes' value system; and vilifies, condemns and mocks traditional societal values and customs at every opportunity," he wrote for the Washington Times in December.

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Before You Go

Ted Nugent's Most Outlandish Statements
'Dead Or In Jail'(01 of07)
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"If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year," Nugent said to NRA supporters in April 2012. "If you can't galvanize and promote and recruit people to vote for Mitt Romney, we're done."Nugent added: "We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November." (credit:Getty Images)
'I'd Like To Shoot 'Em Dead'(02 of07)
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During an interview in 2008, Nugent had harsh words for undocumented immigrants."In an unauthorized entry, armed like they are right now, invading our country, I'd like to shoot 'em dead," Nugent told Fox News' Sean Hannity. (credit:Getty Images)
'Black Jew At A Nazi-Klan Rally' (03 of07)
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After sparking controversy with his anti-Obama screed that earned him a Secret Service investigation, Nugent doubled down on his remarks during an interview with radio host Dana Loesch."I'm a black Jew at a Nazi-Klan rally," he said. "And there are some power-abusing, corrupt monsters in our federal government that despise me because I have the audacity to speak the truth." (credit:Getty Images)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz Is 'Brain-Dead'(04 of07)
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"Wasserman Schultz is such a brain-dead, soulless idiot," Nugent told Dana Loesch after the Florida congresswoman criticized his anti-Obama comments. "I could not be more proud that this soulless, heartless idiot feebly attempts to find fault with Ted Nugent, because I am on the right track and she just encourages me to stand stronger." (credit:Getty Images)
'Suck On My Machine Gun'(05 of07)
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During a 2011 interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, Nugent outlined his views on gun control. "Anybody that wants to disarm me can drop dead," Nugent said. "Anybody that wants to make me unarmed and helpless, we're gonna literally create the proven places that where more innocents are killed called 'gun-free zones,' we're gonna beat you. We're gonna vote you out of office, or suck on my machine gun, you can take it whichever way you want." (credit:Getty Images)
'You Punk'(06 of07)
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While on stage at a 2008 concert, Nugent held up machine guns and shared his thoughts on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. "Hey, Obama," he said, guns in hand. "You might wanna suck on one of these, you punk." He continued, "Hillary, you might wanna ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless bitch." (credit:Getty Images)
'Apartheid Isn't That Cut-And-Dry'(07 of07)
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In 1990, Nugent caused a stir when he commented on racial segregation in South Africa to Detroit Free Press magazine."Apartheid isn't that cut and dry," Nugent said. "All men are not created equal. The preponderance of South Africa is a different breed of man. I mean that with no disrespect. I say that with great respect. I love them because I'm one of them. They are still people of the earth, but they are different. They still put bones in their noses, they still walk around naked, they wipe their butts with their hands ... These are different people. You give 'em toothpaste, they f---ing eat it ... I hope they don't become civilized. They're way ahead of the game." (credit:Getty Images)