Chris Rock Drove Home a Gun-Control Argument on the Day of the Florida Shooting

If you spent Wednesday shaking your head at the horrific mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, then sat down to watch Chris Rock’s new Netflix special, “Tambourine,” you may have been stunned at the timing of one of his first jokes.

Rock addressed mass shootings in America, saying there will never be gun control. He pointed out that every time there’s another mass shooting, someone goes on TV to make the case that guns don’t kill people, people kill people — and that people could just as easily commit mass murders with knives. The comedian recorded the special at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last November.

“If a 100 people ever got stabbed at the same time, in the same place by the same person, you know what that would mean?” Rock said. That “97 people deserve to die.”

Also Read:We Need to Talk About Dear David, the Internet's Favorite Ghost Story (Podcast)

After an applause break, he added: “What, you’re just watching this s—?”

It isn’t the first time Rock has pointed out flaws in First Amendment arguments. In 2012, he told “CBS This Morning”:

We got to figure out how to stop this gun stuff. We do. Whenever people try to defend their guns, they always say, “I’m protecting my property. I’m protecting my property.” Every time there’s a mass shooting, it’s a guy who lives with his mother. He owns no property.

He later elaborated to TheWrap:

The gun lobby always says, well, people need the right to protect their property. Every mass shooting is done by a guy who lives with his mother. I honestly believe you should have to have a mortgage to buy a gun. No one with a mortgage has ever gone on a killing spree. … A mortgage is a real background check … And you know if you go to jail for 30 years you still have to pay your f–ing mortgage.

And then there was his classic “bullet control” riff from “Bigger and Blacker”: “I think all bullets should cost $5,000 dollars… if a bullet cost $5,000, there’d be no more innocent bystanders.”

“Tambourine” is now available on Netflix.

Related stories from TheWrap:

President Trump Blames Mental Health for Florida School Shooting – Guns Not Mentioned

Student Explains How Teacher Saved Her Life in School Shooting in Emotional Interview

Sen. Marco Rubio Called Out for NRA Money After Tweeting About Florida Shooting