School Shooting Survivors Tell Jordan Klepper It’s Time To End The “Magic” Of Politician-Purchasing NRA
Jordan Klepper stayed in character to interview two seniors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, where a former student gunned down 17 classmates and staff last week.
Carly Novell and Delaney Tarr told The Opposition host they’re hoping for legislation that’s a “step in the right direction, something small” to advocate for safe schools without gun violence.
“We are fighting for common sense gun laws,” Tarr said. “We want people to stop getting shot, we want children to stop dying…we are working toward common sense gun regulations.”
Except, Klepper explained, what Americans do after mass shootings is “We think, we pray, and then we move on.”
“As we have discovered, thoughts and prayers generally don’t protect you from gunfire,” Tarr said, not missing a beat. The two students feel they’ve been given an “unprecedented” platform not afforded to survivors of previous school shootings. Survivors of Sandy Hook were very little children, and the Columbine High School massacre happened pre-social media, they explained.
Since the shooting, they have spent their time becoming “more well-researched” on gun-control issues.
“You don’t bring a well-researched argument to a gun fight,” Klepper explained patiently. “You bring passions, you fight over symbols. A gun isn’t a gun – it’s a flag. That’s how Americans want to deal with guns. We want to talk about liberty. Why do you guys want to take away my liberty?”
He suggested they instead advocate for armed teachers, metal detectors, and fences.
“We have older teachers who are not capable of handling guns,” Tarr told Klepper, who is 38. “We don’t know if we’d feel safe having teachers with guns. Students can access those; there are many ways it could go wrong.”
Novell recently went after Tami Lahren over an online post, which Klepper snarked was “harsh…because she is fragile.”
“She told us we had to wait to talk about gun control, when waiting is what got us to this point,” Novell dismissed.
Asked when is the right time to talk about gun control, she responded, “All the time.”
The Comedy Central late-night host pointed out his guests’ home state of Florida boasts lot of legislators have taken money from the NRA to not push for gun control. “I have a briefcase now with $8K in it; it can be yours – all you have to do is drop the whole thing,” he offered.
“We’re trying to decrease the magic of being bought out by interest groups,” Tarr smiled. “We’re trying to make that the badge of shame. Ultimately the NRA is what is letting these things happen. They are funding these politicians; they are giving them millions and millions of dollars and we want that to be known. We want the names of those politicians, we want [people] to know how much each politician is taking.”
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