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John Walsh, CNN's new anti-NRA advocate

John Walsh, the host of CNN's new primetime series "The Hunt," looks set to replace Piers Morgan as the cable network's in-house gun control advocate.

"We have a serious problem with guns in this country, and we refuse to address it," Walsh, the creator and host of "America's Most Wanted," told reporters on Monday. "The NRA solution to arm every grammar school 80-year-old teacher with a gun is absolutely ludicrous."

Walsh also said that Vice President Joe Biden had agreed with his claim that politicians are “scared s--less” of the NRA.

Walsh says he once told Biden, "'90 percent of Americans are for a responsible background check for a gun, and you know what this Congress has done? Not voted on it, not brought it to the floor, not introduced a bill... They're all scared shitless of the NRA, aren't they?'”

“'John, every one of them,'" Biden replied, according to Walsh. "'Because the NRA will run a tea bagger against you. … They'll put 5 million bucks against you.'"

Morgan, who is no longer with CNN, drew national attention in 2012 and 2013 for taking on the NRA and advocating for enhanced gun control legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting. Morgan made the issue a centerpiece of his program and hosted combative interviews with pro-gun adovcates. His show was cancelled earlier this year due to low ratings.

In Monday's remarks, Walsh called Morgan "the only journalist who had the balls to tackle the gun problem straight on."

Walsh's "The Hunt," which debuts July 13, is not a political talk show -- it focuses on chasing criminals, similiar to "America's Most Wanted" -- so debates over gun control will not figure prominently in his program. Still, Walsh's association with CNN will likely invite criticism from anti-gun control conservatives.

Walsh is a gun owner and a hunter. He has been reporting on crime since his six-year-old son was killed by a serial murderer in 1981.

See more of Walsh's remarks on gun control at The Wrap.