Jimmy Kimmel Offers A Passionate Plea To Pass Gun Control
By: Steve Hladik
In the wake of the terrorist attack in Las Vegas, the largest mass shooting in US history, many of televisions late night talk show hosts rushed to update their show with a proper acknowledgement of the tragedy. James Corden offered shock and sentiment, and Jimmy Fallon had Miley Cyrus and Adam Sandler do a moving rendition of Dido's "No Freedom." But it was once again Jimmy Kimmel who stole the show and delivered a heartbreaking and deeply repeatable approach to discussing the massacre.
In the past couple of months, Kimmel has become something of a major voice for so many American viewers who are left bewildered daily by our administration and state of the world. He famously took down Trump and other Republicans after discussing their repeal of Obamacare while sharing a personal story concerning his own son's health and how healthcare saved his life.
Last night, holding back tears, Kimmel offered condolences and a personal connection to Las Vegas, which is where he grew up. He then went on to discuss gun reform and how many US Congresspeople refuse to implement means of gun control due to the "NRA holding their balls in a money clip." The initial reaction to hearing a late night talk show host, someone who's job is to make people laugh and engage with celebrities, talk like that is both jarring and completely necessary. Kimmel has become such a relateable figure these days because he's embraced his role as the Everyman in this narrative against this heinous administration. He offers personal anecdotes and allows both his devastation and his rage come through.
“There are a lot of things we can do about it. But we don’t, which is interesting. Because 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, then there’s nothing we can do about that. And the Second Amendment, I guess, our forefathers wanted us to have AK-47s is the argument, I assume.”
Watching Kimmel's monologue, you don't know if he's going to burst out into tears or into a fit of rage, and it's become deeply comforting for so many Americans to see this display of behavior reflected back to them. Throughout the monologue, Kimmel repeatedly flashed photos of all of the Congresspeople who offer condolences and prayers but actively ignore gun control reform, holding up a mirror to these people's dark and ugly nature. One tiny silver lining these days is knowing you can turn on Kimmel and that he will be holding up the mirror for us.
