In what has become a sadly familiar ritual over the years, last night's late-night hosts kicked off their broadcasts by addressing Sunday's mass-shooting in Orlando. Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, and Conan O'Brien called for stricter gun control, while Larry Wilmore and Seth Meyers excoriated Donald Trump for his self-congratulatory response. But Samantha Bee went all in on Full Frontal, swapping out solemnity for straight-up anger.
"Hey, is it okay if instead of making jokes, I just scream for seven minutes until we go to commercial?" Bee said, before launching into a monologue pleading for stricter gun control. She pointed out (as many have) that even though Orlando shooter Omar Mateen had been investigated by the FBI, he was still easily able to purchase a military-grade assault weapon. Bee made the jokes ("I think we can all agree that if you don't have one friend to hold the phone for you, your lone-wolf ass doesn't get a gun," she said of Mateen's "terrible mirror selfies") but there was nothing funny about her well-placed outrage over how elected officials react to shootings with "love" and "prayers" but not policy. "Love does not win unless we start loving each other enough to fix our fucking problems," she said.
Meanwhile, on The Daily Show, Noah pointed out that while Obama's hosted 12 state dinners, he's had to give 16 mass-shooting addresses. "So right now the White House is using more Kleenex than its good napkins," he said, adding, "Do you want to be a country that takes reasonable measures to protect its citizens, or should we tell the president to prepare speech No. 17?"
Seth Meyers highlighted community efforts to help out Orlando victims and their families and addressed the need for gun control, but dug into Trump's deeply offensive tweet telling followers he "Appreciate[s] the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism."
And Jimmy Fallon addressed issues of intolerance. "We need to be brave enough to get back to accept that we have different opinions, and that's okay, because that's what America is built on...When I think of Orlando, I think of nothing but fun and joy and families. If anyone can do it, you can. Keep loving each other, keep respecting each other, and keep on dancing."
If you missed all of last night's monologues, don't worry—as long as state gun control laws continue to make it easier to purchase an assault rifle than Sudafed, there'll be more mass shootings for hosts to rant about in the future.
