White House Press Secretary Jay Carney this afternoon made good on his promise to respond to a We the People petition calling for the deportation of "British citizen" Piers Morgan over his outspoken views on gun control.

At the time of Carney's response, the petition — which urged the White House to deport Morgan over his "effort to undermine the Bill of Rights" — had racked up over 100,000 signatures — well over the threshold of 25,000 required to elicit a White House reply.

In a statement entitled "When Discussing the Second Amendment, Keep the First in Mind Too," Carney tells those capslocking for Morgan's head not to let arguments "over the Constitution's Second Amendment violate the spirit of its First."

He goes on to reiterate President Obama's support for "an individual right to bear arms," but stresses that his support for gun rights doesn't supersede his support for free speech rights.

Americans may disagree on matters of public policy and express those disagreements vigorously, but no one should be punished by the government simply because he or she expressed a view on the Second Amendment — or any other matter of public concern.

Morgan, who invited the petition's creator Alex Jones to a spirited debate on his show, told The Mail on Sunday he would leave the United States on his own if gun laws stayed the same.

A far less popular petition demanded Morgan remain in the US because "no one in the UK wants him back."