Stephen Colbert calls for gun control action after ‘unspeakably tragic’ shootings in Colorado and Georgia

‘The only way to honour these victims is with action, but our government continues to do nothing’

Stephen Colbert addressed the recent mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia and Boulder, Colorado in his late-night talk show yesterday (23 March).

The host lamented the “unspeakably tragic” events while also calling for government action on gun control legislation.

“Yesterday was another grim day for America when a gunman walked into a Boulder, Colorado supermarket and killed 10 people, including a police officer,” said Colbert. “This story is unspeakably tragic, and I cannot imagine for a moment the grief of these families and this community can be approached with words alone.

“The only suitable way to honour these victims is with action, but our government continues to do nothing.”

On Tuesday 16 March, a series of shootings across three massage parlours in Atlanta claimed the lives of eight people, six of whom were of Asian descent. A suspect, Robert Aaron Long, was taken into custody.

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On Monday 22 March, a mass shooting in a Boulder grocery store resulted in the deaths of ten people, including a police officer.

Speaking on The Late Show, Colbert noted that the attacks were the first such large-scale public shootings to occur in a year, “due, apparently, to pandemic shutdowns”.

“Now, we’ve had two in the last week,” he added. “Evidently, the only solution for America’s gun violence is putting all of us under house arrest.”

The presenter also criticised the words of “gun apologists” in the wake of the shootings, singling out a statement from the Colorado State Shooting Association, which said that “today is not the time” for a debate on gun laws.

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“Why not?” replied Colbert. “That’s what they say every time this happens. And that’s what I say about what they say, every time they say it, every time it happens.”

He also criticised the words of Louisiana senator John Kennedy, who suggested that the US’s issue was less with gun control than “idiots” – that the country has an “idiot control problem”.

“Oh, we definitely have an idiot control problem,” said Colbert. “It’s people who don’t recognize that this country has long had a gun problem, John Kennedy.

“So when idiots like John Kennedy refuse to do anything about getting rid of idiots’ guns, it’s clearly time to get rid of idiots like John Kennedy. And that means voting them out.”

You can see the full Late Show monologue here.