John Oliver gets emotional pleading for something to be done in wake of mass shootings

The Daily Beast

The Last Week Tonight host began Sunday's show with a cold open before his opening theme song that gave him a chance to address the devastating Dayton and El Paso weekend mass shootings. “Before we start our show tonight… as I’m sure you’re aware, America has just seen two mass shootings within 24 hours—in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas," said Oliver, who had tears welling up in his eyes. "And while it’s still very early, I just feel like there are a couple of points that seem worth mentioning here. First, when it comes to gun control, I know it can feel like everything’s been said before… but while the depressingly familiar numbness that we may be currently feeling can help you handle the pain in the short term, in the long term, it can actually be a real problem—because unless something hurts as much as it’s supposed to, nothing gets done about it. And something has got to be done here. And not just about guns." Oliver also slammed President Trump over footage from three months ago laughing at a call to shoot immigrants. "You can now get away with it all over the country, and, as he just made painfully clear, in any room the actual president is in—which is absolutely appalling, and that is something we cannot afford to get numb to, because if that ever, for even a moment, feels like it’s become normal, we are completely f*cked," said Oliver. ALSO: Oliver played an old clip of Bill Cosby explaining the concept of prison to kids.