The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Staying Motivated for New Gun Legislation | Between the Scenes

Episode Date: June 6, 2022

It’s strange how quickly America goes from the land of the possible to the impossible when it comes to stopping gun violence.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. One of the strangest things about conversations involving guns in America is how quickly America goes from being the most hopeful and almost impossible chasing nation to a nation that just believes that nothing is possible all of a sudden. You know? Everything else America believes is possible. We're like, yeah, we're going to go to the moon, we're going to go to Mars. We're going to cure cancer. We go, oh, it doesn't mean we can't do.

We can't do it. We're going to do it. We're going to do? What are you going to do? And what really frustrates me is how people try and make it a game of whack-a-mole when it comes to solving problems. You know, you propose any type of solution, and they go, well, that wouldn't have solved this one, this wouldn't have stopped that. And you like, yeah, but that's not how that's how how how how how how how how how how how how how how how how how that's not how that's not how that's not how that's not how that's not how that's not how that's not how the that's not how the the that's not how the the that's not how the the that's how that's that's to be solved by one solution. A lot of the time, big problems require a multitude of solutions. And what you do is you try and fix it incrementally,

step by step. Every day you think of a new thing. Look at cars, for instance. Cause is a simple idea. Right? When they started off, it was like a bucket with, said, well, why don't we improve it? Why don't we say it has to have brakes. We never thought of brakes. Let's add that. Let's add brakes and let's add this and let's add seat belts. We've gotten to the point where cars drive themselves now and still we say we've got to write laws. We still say let's make sure that a

self-driving car adheres to certain standards. Let's make sure that it hasn't And yet somehow with guns, it just stopped. You know, it's such a strange argument for me. Oh, but that wouldn't have fixed it. Yeah, but if you see a loophole, why not fix it before it leads to a problem that it could have stopped. Do you know what I mean? They always say the same thing, oh, it's a slippery slow. Which guns do you ban? Which guns do you want to ban?

It's like, just just just just just just just ones that people seem to be using over and over again to go into schools to kill a bunch of children at one time. Oh, but that won't, what if they come with it? Yeah, then we'll deal with that. You oh, it wouldn't fix it. Yeah, nothing fixes everything, but you gotta start somewhere. They almost use like the gym, the gym argument, that's what it is. You know, when you're trying to get in shape? What's why don't you go out? Nah, I'm just not gonna change anything. Nah, push-ups on their own don't help. And, you know, walking on its own doesn't,

drinking more water on its own doesn't, you combine these things, step by step, day by day. And then you wake up one day and you're like, well, I look a little bit better than I did before. I feel a little bit better than I did before. the one area where so many people just want to throw their hands up, you know? The same people, by the way, where when they first were told that this was an undocumented immigrant, they were quick. Yeah, they were, that could have been done and we gotta realize that bad people are gonna do bad things.

Oh, but when you thought it was somebody who came across the border illegally, then you, you said there was something you could do. Oh, yeah, well, that, that, yeah. And the saddest thing is it's a small group of people, most Americans on the same page. It's like a small group of people who've managed to shift the Overton window on the conversation around guns. Most gun owners are logical about this. Like gun, like real gun owners go to the range and they shoot. You should see how they respect weapons, you know. They'll even be the ones who go like, yeah, maybe we get rid of some of these guns and maybe we change some of those laws and whatever, but there's this small little group, this lobby that manages to shift the entire conversation in the country. He can't do it.

And it's like, okay, you think that's the end? Okay? And it'll keep happening until somebody makes a change. But the one thing I say is, you just have to keep having hope, you keep fighting, you keep pushing, you don't stop, you. like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, and the the thi. thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and then, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, they. thi. thi. thi. thi. thiiiiiii. thiii. thiii. thii. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. their hope, you keep fighting, you keep pushing, you don't stop, you know. Like someone said to me recently about this conversation, it's like, why do we we bother? Like, why do we keep having this conversation? I was like, hey, man, I don't know, why did Martin Luther King Jr. bother? You know, why did Nelson Mandela bother? Why did Marguer, why did Harriet Tubman bother? Why did, you know, why the, they? they? they? their their their their their their their their their their their their th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th tho, why do tho, why do tho, why do th th. Why do tho, why do tho, why do th. th. th. th. Why do th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th, why do we th, why do we th, why do we th, why do we th, why do we th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th that that is that is thi, why thi, why thi? that? that? that? that that that that that that that that that that that that try again and you try again and you try again and then, you know, one day you succeed. Or you die of old age.

That's life. Watch the Daily Show, weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.