In light of Friday's shooting in Aurora, Colorado, you'd think that the news media circuit would be having a field day with gun control talk. But most pundits asked to weigh in have been steering clear of the topic, claiming that it's "too soon" to discuss the nation's gun policies, and instead opting to discuss how unfortunate the tragedy is.
So on Monday night's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart gave the scenario some perspective:
You're telling me that it's still too soon to have a conversation about it? You're telling me that to discuss the epidemic of gun violence in this country, for that there is a waiting period. Yeah, I guess you'd hate to go into a conversation about guns all hot-headed and say something impulsively you'll never be able to take back. Look: this is the time to talk about all of it. Everything should be on the table. Anything that could possibly help mitigate these terrible events. I'm not even saying gun control would do it, I'm just saying it's got to be part of the conversation.
But it wasn't just the lack of discourse that had Stewart concerned. ABC News' Brian Ross reported that James Holmes, the shooter, may also be Tea Party-affiliated because an online search had pointed him to a message board where someone by the same name in Aurora, Colorado had posted. Later in the broadcast, Ross received more information and corrected himself -- the Tea Party supporter and the shooter were, in fact, two different James Holmes, but the damage was already done in Stewart's eyes. Ross had already accused an innocent guy of being a murderer, and no apology was issued.
The words he thought were missing from Ross' report?
And I am really sorry. Really f*cking sorry. Deeply sorry. Deeply, irrevocably sorry to the innocent man that I casually, baselessly and publicly accused of -- I don't know -- maybe being a mass murderer. Cause when I was Googling his name I saw the phrase 'the Tea Party' and I thought, 'Oh! That's a pre-existing narrative! I should get that on the TV!'
Watch clip one above and clip two below and be sure to weigh in in the comments.
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