Jimmy Kimmel’s Emotional Monologue Sparks Gun Control Debate On Twitter

“It feels like someone has opened a window into hell.” An angry Jimmy Kimmel did not hold back Monday night as he spoke about the mass killing in Las Vegas — billed as the deadliest shooting incident in modern American history — in his nearly 10-minute monologue.

The country is still in a state of shock after more than 50 people were killed and hundreds were injured Sunday, when a 64-year-old gunman, Steve Paddock, allegedly went on a shooting spree.

The ABC-late night host, moved by the incident, lashed out at President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders for their lackadaisical approach towards the menace of gun violence in the U.S.

"President Trump, you said you wanted to be a transformative president who doesn't care about the way things have always been done in Washington D.C. This is your chance to prove it," the Jimmy Kimmel! Live! host said. "I mean this sincerely; you do not owe the Republicans anything. You know the Republicans tried to stop you from being president. Well, s---- 'em. You want to make America great again? Do something the last two presidents haven't been able to do. Pass any kind of common sense gun control legislation that the vast majority of Americans want."

The Republican-led Senate in February had voted against the Obama-era policy that restricted the purchase of firearms by mentally challenged people.

Kimmel, during his monologue, referred to the GOP leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and said they "sent their thoughts and their prayers today. Which is good. They should be praying for God to forgive them for letting the gun lobby run this country."

Mourning the loss of lives, the comedian, who was in tears while talking about the massacre, said, "We have children without parents and fathers without sons, mothers without daughters. It's the kind of thing that makes you want to throw up or give up."

While POTUS has often counted “Islamic terrorism” as a threat to the U.S., he has hardly ever talked about the threat homegrown terror poses to the country. According to a database compiled by The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, between 2008 and 2016, there have been twice as many terror attacks by right-wing extremists in the U.S. than those perpetrated by “Islamic terrorists.”

Kimmel brought up the same point as he spoke about the Las Vegas shooting. "When someone with a beard attacks us, we tap phones, we invoke travel bans, we build walls. We take every possible precaution to make sure it doesn't happen again," Kimmel said. "But when an American buys a gun and kills other Americans then there's nothing we can do about that [because] the second amendment, I guess. Our forefathers wanted us to have AK-47s is the argument, I assume."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, who apparently choked up while addressing a press briefing Monday as she talked about the Las Vegas shooting, said it was not the right time to debate gun control. However, Kimmel’s emotional message sparked a gun control debate on Twitter as several users said they could relate to what Kimmel felt about the shooting incident. “Jimmy Kimmel” was among the top Twitter trends soon after the monologue was aired as social media users pondered over what he said.

However, some Twitter users did not seem to agree with Kimmel.

Among other late-night hosts, Trevor Noah of Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” also rebuffed Sanders’ argument that it was not the right time to discuss the issue.

"When a plane crashes we talk about plane safety immediately. When a bridge collapses we talk about infrastructure immediately ... we seem to do everything to avoid talking about guns," said Noah. "So, just to keep track of the argument: Mass shooting, mass shooting, mass shooting...'We have to take care of this hotel check-in issue.'"