John Oliver Argues for Gun Control in Wake of Nashville School Mass Shooting: “Change Long Overdue” – Hollywood Reporter
John Oliver used the opening segment on Sunday Last week tonight to appreciate the tragic event that took place last month in Tennessee, when three children and three adults were killed in a school shooting.
After the tragedy at the Alliance School, a private elementary school in the suburbs of Nashville, on March 27, young activists protested at the state Capitol “the lack of response from the legislature with some chants about Governor Bill Lee,” Oliver. It should be noted that before footage is shown of the protesters repeatedly chanting, “Fuck Bill Lee!”
The host of the HBO show responded: “Look, you can try and get smart with it. But at the end of the day it’s nothing more than a song that ‘fuck’ and then the name of the person you’re crazy about. It is short. It is sweet. To the point. It’s ‘Fuck Bill Lee’.
Oliver argued that the response from both Lee and other Republicans was “underwhelming.” He showed a clip of the state Rep. William Lamberth argued that it would be futile to institute a ban on AR-15 rifles.
“You don’t like my answer, and look, I’m going to tell the truth,” said Lambert. “Not about this one gun. If there’s a firearm there that you’re comfortable with shooting, show me that one.”
Oliver replied: “I mean the Hall of Fame shitty answer. But also, if your opener is, ‘You’re not going to like my answer,’ maybe you’re thinking of better things. And for proof I do not want to shoot from any guns. I don’t even want to be shot by a Nerf gun.”
Meanwhile, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two Democratic state legislators who took part in gun protests, were expelled from the Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives last week. A third representative, Gloria Johnson, who also joined the gun protest, was voted out by one member.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton gave a press conference in which he defended the deportations, saying the match incites violence. When asked if he had any supporting evidence, Sexton replied, “I mean, you can’t prove it.”
“Oh good,” Oliver said. “Now then, you cannot prove that they instigated the attack. But in safety, you feel responsible to remove the dangerous platform from them. But if they had megaphones, they say something that can spread a fire 100 times in a matter of minutes, then, unfortunately, it literally can’t do it, so that’s what we asked early on, the mayor of Whoville, and he said nothing.
It is worth noting that Johnson is white, while Jones and Pearson are black. When asked why Johnson escaped expulsion while the other two did not, he replied, “It was because of the color of our skin.”
“It was an example of an event that was pretty hard to miss,” Oliver noted.
Johnson also pointed out that the Tennessee legislature allows far worse behavior without repercussions: “We had a child molested on the floor for years. They helped him to be rehabilitated. They didn’t drive him out. We had members MINGO in each other’s chairs. We had members of the lady’s cousin medicine and nothing was done.”
He snaps at Oliver: “I’m sorry, ‘his lady’s cousin’? Do you know how crazy a list of allegations someone has to go, ‘That boy has been annoying for years, but honestly don’t bother writing what’s down, because wait until you hear about the next two things I’m going to say? “
He further argued that “it was not a great sign in Tennessee, when they punished those who spoke out against gun violence, when they kept asking, ‘Who do you want to shoot when you are shot?’
He added: “Look, there are clearly two big issues going on here – racism and gun violence – which, by the way, will in all likelihood be the name of Kid Rock’s next album. And Tennessee lawyers can continue to brush off both of those issues, saying “guns aren’t a problem” or “we don’t see color,” but the young people of Tennessee are clearly becoming sick of waiting for change. it is long overdue.
