NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OUR SHOW WAS OFF THE
AIR LAST WEEK, SO THIS IS OUR FIRST SHOW BACK SINCE THE TRAGIC
SCHOOL SHOOTING IN PARKLAND, FLORIDA.
WE WANT TO SEND OUR LOVE TO THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS, TO
THE VICTIMS WHO ARE STILL RECOVERING FROM THEIR PHYSICAL
INJURIES, TO THE INCREDIBLE FIRST RESPONDERS WHO WERE
INVOLVED AND, OF COURSE, TO THOSE STUDENTS WHO SURVIVED BUT
WHO WILL DEAL WITH THE AFTERMATH OF THIS FOR THE REST OF THEIR
LIVES.
WHEN I CAME TO AMERICA THREE YEARS AGO TO TAKE THIS JOB, I
COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED THAT, AS A LATE NIGHT HOST, I WOULD BE
TALKING ABOUT MASS SHOOTINGS, LET ALONE SO MANY OF THEM.
AFTER I SPOKE OUT ABOUT THE LAS VEGAS SHOOTING, SOME SAID
THAT I SHOULDN'T BE TALKING ABOUT IT.
ITS NOT MY PLACE, I'M NOT FROM THIS COUNTRY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND
THE HISTORY.
AND MAYBE THEY ARE RIGHT.
I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND THE RULES OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL,
BASEBALL, AND I JUST ONLY LEARNED HOW THIS COUNTRY
PRONOUNCES THE WORD "OREGANO."
IT'S CLEARLY "OREGANO."
I MAY NOT BE AMERICAN, BUT I HAVE EXPERIENCE OF WHAT HAPPENED
IN MY COUNTRY WHEN A MASS SHOOTING HAPPENED.
I ALSO HAVE CHILDREN WHO ARE AMERICAN AND WHO GO TO SCHOOL
HERE.
AND, LIKE ANY PARENT, I WANT MY KIDS TO BE SAFE.
HERE IN CALIFORNIA, KIDS EXPERIENCE TWO THINGS THAT I
NEVER EXPERIENCED GROWING UP; ONE IS A DRILL FOR WHAT TO DO IN
THE EVENT OF AN EARTHQUAKE.
AN EARTHQUAKE, AN UNAVOIDABLE PHENOMENON OF NATURE.
AND THE OTHER IS A DRILL ON WHAT TO DO IF A PERSON ENTERS THE
SCHOOL WITH A GUN, WHICH, IN MY OPINION, IS NOT AN UNAVOIDABLE
PHENOMENON OF NATURE, AND YET, SADLY, IS WAY MORE COMMONPLACE
IN AMERICA THAN MAJOR EARTHQUAKES.
I SAW THIS CHART FROM THE "NEW YORK TIMES" WHICH MANY OF YOU
WILL HAVE SEEN THAT SHOWS EVERY LARGE COUNTRY THAT HAS
EXPERIENCED A MASS SHOOTING.
AS YOU CAN SEE THE LEFT-SIDE REPRESENTS THE NUMBER OF MASS
SHOOTERS AND THE BOTTOM SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF GUNS IN A COUNTRY.
NOW WHERE IS AMERICA ON THIS CHART?
THERE'S AMERICA.
SO ALTHOUGH THESE TYPES OF MASS SHOOTINGS HAVE BECOME NORMAL IN
THIS COUNTRY, THEY'RE NOT NORMAL AT ALL FOR THE REST OF THE
PLANET.
ITS PRETTY CLEAR FROM THE GRAPH MORE GUNS LEAD TO MORE MASS
SHOOTINGS.
AND I KNOW THIS FIRST HAND BECAUSE I'M FROM BRITAIN WHERE
IN 1996, THERE WAS A PRIMARY SCHOOL SHOOTING WHERE 16
CHILDREN AND ONE TEACHER WERE SHOT AND KILLED.
AFTERWARDS, LAWMAKERS PASSED RESTRICTIVE HANDGUN LAWS IN THE
U.K., AND THERE HASN'T BEEN A SCHOOL SHOOTING SINCE.
22 YEARS AGO.
IN 1996, A MAN IN AUSTRALIA KILLED THIRTY-FOUR PEOPLE IN
PORT ARTHUR, TASMANIA.
IN RESPONSE, THE COUNTRY PASSED THE NATIONAL FIREARMS AGREEMENT,
AND THERE HASN'T BEEN A MASS SHOOTING IN AUSTRALIA SINCE.
LET'S LOOK AT JAPAN.
ACCORDING TO "BUSINESS INSIDER," PEOPLE IN JAPAN CAN OWN A GUN IF
THEY DO THE FOLLOWING; ATTEND AN ALL-DAY CLASS, PASS A
WRITTEN TEST, ACHIEVE AT LEAST 95% ACCURACY ON A SHOOTING-RANGE
TEST, PASS A MENTAL-HEALTH EVALUATION, AND PASS A RIGOROUS
BACKGROUND CHECK INCLUDING INTERVIEWS OF YOUR FRIENDS AND
FAMILY.
AND THEN THEY CAN ONLY BUY SHOTGUNS AND AIR RIFLES.
THEY CANNOT BUY HANDGUNS.
AND EVERY THREE YEARS, THEY MUST RETAKE THE CLASS AND INITIAL
EXAM.
AS A RESULT, JAPAN HAS VIRTUALLY NO GUN DEATHS.
NOT NO MASS SHOOTINGS, BUT BARELY ANY GUN DEATHS IN
GENERAL.
NOW, MAYBE SOME OF YOU MAY THINK THAT THE LAWS IN JAPAN AND OTHER
COUNTRIES ARE TOO EXTREME AND INFRINGE ON CIVIL LIBERTIES.
BUT WHAT THE STRICT GUN LAWS IN JAPAN, ENGLAND, AND AUSTRALIA
SHOW US IS THAT STRICTER GUN LAWS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN
REDUCING MASS SHOOTINGS.
AND I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, AFTER THE MASS SHOOTINGS OF THE
PAST FEW YEARS IN AMERICA, I'V FELT EXACTLY THE SAME AS YOU.
I'VE FELT ANGRY, CONFUSED, AND FRUSTRATED
THAT NOTHING WOULD BE DONE TO TRY TO AVOID THESE MASSACRES.
IT SOMEHOW ALWAYS BECOMES POLITICAL.
SOME ON THE RIGHT WOULD ARGUE THAT IT'S NOT TIME TO TALK ABOUT
GUN CONTROL, WHILE SOME ON THE LEFT ARGUE THAT, FOR THE
VICTIMS, IT'S TOO LATE TO BE TALKING ABOUT GUN CONTROL.
BUT PERHAPS SOMETHING HAS CHANGED AFTER THE SHOOTING IN
PARKLAND.
THIS TIME, THE CHILDREN SEEM TO BE USING THEIR VOICES LOUDER
THAN EVER TO DEMAND THAT THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS ADDRESS THIS
ISSUE.
THE SURVIVORS OF MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL,
NOT THE RIGHT WING OR THE LEFT WING, BUT THE KIDS WHO, FOR MOST
OF THEIR LIVES, HAVE BEEN DOING THE SAME ACTIVE-SHOOTER-DRILL
THAT OUR KIDS WILL DO.
THE SAME DRILL I BET MANY PEOPLE IN THIS STUDIO HAVE DONE.
THEY ARE SAYING, "YOU KNOW WHAT, WE WANT SOMETHING DONE.
NO MORE JUST TWEETING "THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS" FOLLOWED BY
INACTION.
THEY ARE SAYING "WE DEMAND CHANGE.
AND UNTIL WE GET IT WE WILL CALL YOU OUT.
WE WILL LAY DOWN IN FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE IN PROTEST.
WE WILL ORGANIZE A "MARCH FOR OUR LIVES" IN WASHINGTON D.C. ON
MARCH 24 UNTIL SOMEONE LISTENS TO US."
WHEN I SEE THESE KIDS TALKING, IT MAKES ME FEEL HOPEFUL.
IT ISN'T FOREIGN LATE NIGHT HOSTS YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO.
YOU SHOULDN'T BE LISTENING TO ME.
JUST ASK ANYONE THAT KNOWS ME.
BUT YOU CAN LISTEN TO AMERICA'S CHILDREN.
AND THAT FILLS ME WITH OPTIMISM, THAT MAYBE AMERICANS WILL BE
ABLE TO COME TOGETHER AND PUT ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES TO MAKE
A SENSIBLE CHANGE FOR THOSE KIDS, FOR OUR KIDS, AND FOR ALL
AMERICANS.
MARCH 24th, WASHINGTON, D.C.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )