In a lengthy 20-minute segment (broken into two online video clips in Canada), the Comedy Central star battled through a cold to explain why the U.S. needs to stop dancing around the issue of gun control.
After saying the Sandy Hook massacre should compel Americans to begin the arms debate, he cut to a clip of NRA chief Wayne LaPierre on “Meet the Press” arguing that no discussion was needed. LaPierre also decided to blame violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto and movies such as American Psycho.
“Sorry, I just assumed that beginning a conversation about gun control meant starting with … guns. But you want to talk about the non-gun causes of … gun violence,” Stewart said.
He also featured a clip of Mike Huckabee saying the U.S. didn’t have a gun or violence problem, but a sin problem.
Stewart quipped: “Is this cuz I masturbated? I didn’t know this was a national issue.”
In the second clip, gun control opponents were featured saying that laws restricting magazine size or banning assault weapons won’t stop every mass murder. One talking head said a ban on assault weapons didn’t work before.
Stewart replied, “Well you know what they all say? If at first you don’t succeed, f**k it.”
Lastly, the show highlighted how many anti-gun control Americans adopt a slippery slope argument, believing any arms restrictions will lead to the U.S. government snatching all the guns and fostering a Hitler-esque tyranny. Stewart states that no politician is talking about taking away all the guns, and pokes holes in these paranoid fears.
“Their paralytic fear of a possible dystopic future prevents us from addressing our actual dystopic present. We can’t do anything because the right is too worried about the rise of an imaginary Hitler,” he concluded.
