Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon somberly address the Orlando shooting

On Monday, the world of late night comedy grappled publicly with the mass murder of 49 people early Sunday morning at Pulse, a gay dance club in Orlando, Florida. At The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon gave a heartfelt mini-sermon on civility and tolerance, adding just enough sugar to the lemon juice to make the lemonade almost palatable. "I know everyone is angry right now, and not really knowing how to react, but this is a time when people are looking to us as a country, and how we will react," he said. "We need to support each other's differences and worry less about our own opinions."

"That's what America is built on," Fallon continued. "The idea that we can stand up and speak our minds and live our lives and not be punished for that, or mocked on the internet, or killed by someone you don't know. This was just one bad guy here, 49 good people and one bad guy, and there will always be more good than evil." He ended with an admonition to Orlando, and to America: "Keep loving each other, keep respecting each other, and keep on dancing."

YouTube

Watch On

Conan O'Brien opened with the late-night comedian's lament in the face of national tragedy: "Sometimes events are so horrifying and bleak, that to come out here and tell jokes, just — it's not really possible ... At a time when we think we've heard the worst stories about senseless violence in our country, that it couldn't possibly get worse, the news out of Orlando yesterday is still impossible to fathom. That so many people can lose their lives so quickly because of one person's demented rage will never make sense, and God help us if it ever does."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Then Conan made his stand. He said he's not an expert, he's not a pundit, and he's tried really hard over the years to "not bore you with what I think. However, I am a father of two, I like to believe I have a shred of common sense, and I simply do not understand why anybody in this country is allowed to purchase and own a semiautomatic assault rifle — it makes no sense to me. These are weapons of war, and they have no place in civilian life. I have tried to understand this issue from every side, and it all comes down to this: Nobody I know or have ever met in my entire life should have access to a weapon that can kill so many people so quickly. These mass shootings are happening so often now, that lamenting them afterward is becoming a national ritual." Conan said he doesn't have the answer, but "it's time to grow up and figure this out." Watch below. Peter Weber

YouTube

Watch On