Late night talk’s call for gun control
Late night talk show hosts from Jimmy Kimmel to James Corden dive into the gun control debate following the deadly Las Vegas shootings
Late night talk show hosts opened their monologues Monday night to discuss the Las Vegas massacre that left at least 59 people and nearly 530 others injured.
The comments came a day after Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire from his 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on a country music festival.
LAS VEGAS SHOOTING: FULL COVERAGE OF MASSACRE ON THE STRIP
Many of the talk show hosts used their stage to discuss gun control, urging politicians to take action and start a discussion about gun violence.
Jimmy Kimmel
The host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" used his opening monologue to call out politicians he indicated were soft on gun laws. He tearfully addressed his audience, saying these officials are quick to offer their prayers for victims but said, “They should be praying to God to forgive them, for letting the gun lobby run this country."
“When someone with a beard attacks us, we tap phones, we invoke travel bans, we build walls, we take every possible precaution to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But when an American buys a gun and kills other Americans, there’s nothing we can do about it,” he said.
He told the audience that he was talking about “common sense” and not gun control.
“Common sense says no good will ever come from allowing a person to have weapons that can take down 527 Americans at a concert,” he said.
Kimmel said, “It’s too much to even process — all these devastated families who now have to live with this pain forever because one person with a violent and insane voice in his head managed to stockpile a collection of high-powered rifles and use them to shoot people."
Trevor Noah
“The Daily Show” host also discussed gun control. Noah, a native of South Africa, said he felt people were becoming more “accustomed” to news like the Las Vegas massacre.
Noah said he feels like Americans avoid having a discussion about guns.
"I've never been to a country where people are as afraid to speak about guns. Every time there's a shooting you got to look at something else. Is it Muslims? Is it their religion? Is that what it is? Is it the blacks? Is it mentally ill people? Is it white nationalists? Every time it's a different question. Now, after this incident in Las Vegas, we're asking a new question. Is it hotels?" Noah said.
Noah concluded his monologue by apologizing to the massacre’s victims and families.
"To the people of Las Vegas, I can't give you thoughts and prayers. I can only say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry we live in a world where people will put a gun before your lives,” Noah said.
Conan O'Brien
O’Brien echoed his fellow late night talk show hosts and mentioned that “something needs to change.”
"When I began in 1993, occasions like this were extremely rare. For me, or any TV comedy host, to come out and need to address a mass shooting spree was practically unheard of. [...] Things have changed,” O’Brien said.
"I'm not the most political of our comics, but I will repeat what I said not long ago, after Orlando — I don't think it should be so easy for one demented person to kill so many people so quickly. Something needs to change," O’Brien concluded.
Seth Meyers
“Late Night” host Meyers began his monologue with condolences to the victims and their families of the attack as well as people who “risked their lives to save strangers” before calling on Congress to discuss gun violence.
"I would just like to say — are there no steps we can take as a nation to prevent gun violence? Or is this just how it is, and how it's going to continue to be?"
Meyers asked “when is the time to talk about gun violence” before adding “what you really mean is, there is never a time to talk about it.”
"If you're [Congress] not willing to do anything, just be honest and tell us.... If it's going to be thoughts and prayers from here on out, the least you can do is be honest about that," Meyers concluded.
Stephen Colbert
“The Late Show” host also had a message for Congress -- and one for President Trump.
“This afternoon the president called [the Las Vegas massacre] an 'act of pure evil.' And I think he’s right,” Colbert said. “So what then are we willing to do to combat pure evil?”
Colbert then directed his message to Trump.
“Doing nothing is cowardice. Doing something will take courage,” Colbert said.
"Now, President Trump, you said you want to be a transformative president, who doesn’t care about the way things have always been done in Washington, D.C. This is your chance to prove it. And I mean this sincerely. You do not owe the Republicans anything. You know the Republicans tried to stop you from being president. Well, screw ‘em!” Colbert proclaimed.
Colbert concluded by asking Trump what he should be doing.
“Think about what you ought to do, and then pray for the courage to do it,” Colbert said.
James Corden
“The Late Late Show” host Corden echoed his colleagues and said it was time to talk about gun control.
Corden, who is from the United Kingdom, said during his time living in the United States he has seen two of the largest mass shootings in the history of America.
“Now, I come from a place where we don’t have shootings at this frequency so it’s hard for me to fathom, but it should be hard for everyone to fathom,” Corden said. “Gun violence should not be a staple of American life. Some say it’s too early to talk about gun control. For those victims last night, it’s far too late.”
Corden asked why the U.S. has trouble preventing shootings.
“Forgive me, as I’m just a foreigner here and some of you may feel I have no place to say this, but how does every other developed country do a better job of preventing these attacks?” Corden asked. “We can’t be surprised that gun crime will always occur when there is such wide availability of guns.”
Corden concluded by saying these types of incidents must stop.
Jimmy Fallon
“Tonight Show” host Fallon said a few words before he opened his show with a song. Singer Miley Cyrus and comedian Adam Sandler performed as a duet, singing Cyrus’ “The Climb” and Dido’s “No Freedom.”
"This morning, we woke up to the news of another senseless shooting. This time in Las Vegas. In the face of tragedies and acts of terror, we need to remember that good still exists in this world," Fallon said before introducing Cyrus and Sandler. "We're here to entertain you tonight, and that's what we're going to do."
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