(Image Credit: Whitehouse.gov)

The White House has issued an official response to the online petition calling for CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported back to Great Britain for his "hostile attack against the U.S. Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment."

In the response, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney urged Americans to not let "arguments over the Constitution's Second Amendment violate the spirit of its First."

The petition gained more than 100,000 signatures on the White House site, well beyond the 25,000 necessary to warrant a response, after Morgan spoke out in strong support of gun control following the deadly school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

The petition demanded Morgan "be deported immediately for his effort to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens."

In his response, Carney underscored that "the Constitution not only guarantees an individual right to bear arms, but also enshrines the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press - fundamental principles that are essential to our democracy."

The response came just days after Morgan and conservative radio host Alex Jones, an avid backer of the petition, had a heated on-air debate over gun control.