The Late Show was on break last week, and Monday night was Stephen Colbert's first opportunity to address the shootings in Colorado Springs and San Bernardino. He started by offering his thoughts and prayers for the victims.
"Of course, these days, even thoughts and prayers have become controversial," Colbert noted, holding up a copy of the New York Daily News from last Thursday, with "God Isn't Fixing This" on the cover. "First, I'd just like to defend thoughts and prayers, as someone who occasionally thinks and prays. The reason you keep people in your thoughts and prayers is admittedly not to fix the problem, but to try to find some small way to share the burden of grief." Still, he said, "the Daily News is right that if we really want to fix it, we can't just stop there." So what to do? Colbert didn't really have an answer, but he did have some questions. Like: "Why is it so easy to buy bullets when I have to show three forms of ID to buy Sudafed?"
President Obama called the San Bernardino shooting an act of terrorism on Sunday night, and motive matters, Colbert said. When it is terrorism, the U.S. does something about it, "sometimes too much about it," but "when it's not a terrorist attack, we do nothing. Why can't there be anything in between?" Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why ‘anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid sitesIn The Spotlight Members of Infidels MC, who regard themselves as modern Crusaders, among private security guards at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites
-
China: Xi seeks to fill America’s voidFeature Trump’s tariffs are pushing nations eastward as Xi Jinping focuses on strengthening ties with global leaders
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War DepartmentFeature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in ZürichThe Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
