Stephen Colbert blasts 'idiot' Sen. John Kennedy for remarks following Boulder shooting

Stephen Proctor

Stephen Colbert opened The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Tuesday night by addressing Monday’s mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado. Colbert acknowledged the grim reality of the situation not just in Boulder, but across this country, as the mass shooting in Boulder occurred less than a week after eight people were gunned down in Georgia. Colbert stated that words alone will not help the situation, and the only suitable way to honor the victims is with action, which took him to Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, who had a lot to say about gun control on Tuesday, most of it drawing fierce backlash.

In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun control, which was scheduled before the Boulder shooting occurred, Kennedy compared mass shootings to drunk driving.

“We have a lot of drunk drivers in America that kill a lot of people, we ought to try to combat that too,” Kennedy said. “The answer is not to get rid of all sober drivers. The answer is to concentrate on the problem.”

CNN’s Jake Tapper was baffled by the comparison, saying, “I don’t even know what to say to that, it’s so stupid.” But Colbert found the good that could come from that argument.

“Okay, I’ll take that deal,” Colbert said. “Let's regulate guns the way we regulate alcohol and cars. You got to be 21, got to pass a test to get a license, you got to have registration and insurance for your gun. If you move to a new state, you got to do the whole damn thing over again, and you can't go out loaded.”

Later in the day, Kennedy once again spoke about mass shootings in a way that didn’t go over too well.

“I don’t believe we have a gun control problem in America,” Kennedy said, “I believe we have an idiot control problem.”

“Oh, we definitely have an idiot control problem,” Colbert said in response. “It’s people who don’t recognize that this country has long had a gun problem, JOHN KENNEDY.”

And as Senate Republicans, once again, appear poised to block gun control legislation, Colbert called for Kennedy, along with others who would block such legislation, to be voted out of office.

“So, when idiots like John Kennedy refuse to do anything about getting rid of idiots' guns,” Colbert said, “it's clearly time to get rid of idiots like John Kennedy, and that means voting them out.”

The Late Show With Stephen Colbertairs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.

Watch Seth Meyers call for a media boycott of certain words following Boulder shooting:

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