Speed Reads

Late Night Tackles Guns

Fox News has lots of ideas to fix mass shootings. Trevor Noah explains why they're all garbage.

"This weekend's tragedies seem to have motivated lawmakers in D.C.," where some Republicans are proposing "red flag" laws "to take guns from people who show signs of threatening behavior," while many Democrats are backing an assault weapon ban, universal background checks, and limiting magazine capacities, Trevor Noah said on Tuesday's Daily Show. "And while most legislators are trying to figure out which laws will curb future mass shootings, Fox News has chosen to spend most of their time telling people that shootings have nothing to do with guns."

Some hosts and guests on "the presidential advisory network" argue that the problem isn't too many guns but not enough God, while others say the problem is too few fathers. "It's hard to have a stable family life if your dad is getting gunned down at a Walmart," Noah noted. "I would love for every young man in America to magically have a perfect upbringing that helps get rid of their rage, but I have no idea how you're going to achieve that. Because you can write laws that will regulate guns; you can't write laws forcing people to have a good family life."

"But as usual, the best worst ideas on Fox can all be found in one place: Sean Hannity," Noah said. "According to him, America's problem isn't too many guns, it's not enough guns." An armed guard in "every hall of every mall?" he asked. "That sounds like the bleakest Dr. Seuss book ever." Noah pointed out some fallacies and impracticalities in Hannity's armed-guards-everywhere argument, but "the strangest part of the argument," he added, "is this: Hannity and Fox News talk every day about protecting American freedoms. But if everyone in America's forced to live in a world of perimeter fences, metal detectors, and armed guards in every hall, then it starts to feel like society's living in a prison, and the only thing that's free is the gun." Watch below. Peter Weber