Stephen Colbert gawks at the House Democrats' sit-in for gun control

Stephen Colbert weighs in on the House Democrats&#039; sit-in

(Image credit: Late Show)

published 23 June 2016

Starting Wednesday morning, and for at least 16 hours, House Democrats held a sit-in to force a vote on a Senate bill to keep suspected terrorists from buying guns. To put that in some perspective, Stephen Colbert taped Wednesday's Late Show during the early hours of the sit-in, and it was still going strong when the show aired late Wednesday night. He addressed the protest in his monologue, poking fun at Democrats but mostly ribbing Republicans.

"Republicans are already responding," Colbert said. "Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said, 'I don't think we should allow any group to bring the work of the House to a halt.' It's true, it's true: You wouldn't want the gridlock to lose its momentum. Don't let your complete paralysis get in the way of a good stalemate." He also hit at some softer targets: "Republicans shut off C-SPAN's cameras, which really upset C-SPAN's viewer." You can watch Colbert's mid-sit-in roundup below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.