Stephen Colbert opened for the first time in a long time The late show Tuesday evening with a solemn message about another mass shooting in the United States.
“Yesterday was another grim day for America when a gunman walked into a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado and killed ten people, including a police officer,” he began. “This story is unspeakably tragic and I cannot imagine the grief of these families for a moment.” The “only suitable way to honor these victims is through action,” added Colbert. “But our government will not continue to do anything.”
In part due to the closure of COVID-19, it had been a full year since the country had seen a mass shooting in a public place like the two committed in Atlanta and Boulder last week. “Apparently the only solution to US gun violence is to put us all under house arrest,” he said.
From there, Colbert turned to the “predictable” responses from “weapons apologists” such as the Colorado State Shooting Association, who said in a statement, “There will come a time for the gun laws debate. There will come a time for a discussion about how this could have been avoided. But today is not the right time. “
“Why not?!” Colbert fired back. “They say that every time this happens. And that’s what I say about what they say every time they say it, every time it happens. “
“Another gun fetishist to play a role in the tragedy is Colorado representative and HR supervisor for John Wick, Lauren Boebert,” added the host, pointing to a tweet from the QAnon-friendly congressman reading in part: information and details in this case, random public shootings and senseless acts of violence are never OK. “
“Where does she find the courage?” Colbert asked. “’Pointless violence is never okay,’ which of course implies that intentional violence is fine. You know, the kind her friends plan on doing with Parler. “
But he wasn’t done yet, taking on Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), who claimed on Tuesday that America doesn’t have a gun control problem, but rather an “ idiot control problem. ”
“Oh, we certainly have an idiot control problem,” Colbert replied. “It’s people who don’t recognize that this country has had a gun problem for a long time, John Kennedy. So when idiots like John Kennedy refuse to do anything to get rid of idiots’ weapons, clearly it’s time to get rid of idiots like John Kennedy. And that means they have to vote out! “
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