Piers Morgan is gone from his primetime show on CNN and the immediate reaction seems to be good riddance, from most of the paparazzi, glitterati, and newshounds.

Not so fast! I learned to like Piers Morgan, who coincidentally has Irish roots.

Sure he seems out of his depth on American political issues, but I really liked the fact that he took a stand on many topics.

None more so than gun control, of course, and Morgan was outspoken to a fault.

He provided a useful window on the world for many Americans who were watching.

The gun issue in America is looked on as pure insanity in Europe. Put simply, guns don’t belong in private hands – period. The comparable murder rates make the winner of that argument obvious.

Even Canada, where there is strict gun control, is a good example. You can own a gun, but you have to pass background checks.

That Morgan could say that guns are bad and draw such ire is an example of how insular the argument is here.

When you add up all the school shootings, and the murders, and the deranged, the mad, and the insane who have guns, the answer is actually crystal clear.

People should not own guns and, if they do, they should be heavily regulated and background checked.

Morgan stated an entirely obvious truth and was pilloried from pillar to post for it.

Yet someday Americans will wake up from their NRA-inflicted nightmare and realize that gun laws that allow deranged people to kill kids are not very smart.

Sure folks can rattle on about the Second Amendment as much as they like but, there is clear ambivalence at the heart of that amendment, governed by the first sentence about a well-regulated militia, i.e. an army.

Yes armies should have guns. So should police. So should the FBI and those responsible for security.

And, no, I don’t believe nor does Piers Morgan believe in UN black helicopters, Armageddon/apocalypse now, government mind control or any of that nonsense.

I believe in the extraordinary testimony of Frank Hall, the high school football coach on “60 Minutes” this week talking about how many lives he saved when a school age gunman began shooting at Chardon High, in Ohio.

Hall pleaded for a new policy on guns and school safety. Like every other time, it probably fell on deaf ears.

Piers Morgan tried to talk sense as well. For that I salute him and will miss him.