Molly Shannon Appeared In An Ad For the National Rifle Association A Few Years Before She Was On 'Saturday Night Live'

Many people know Molly Shannon from her roles on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" -- Mary Katherine Gallagher, the Catholic schoolgirl with the nervous habit of putting her hands under her armpits to smell them; and Sally O’Malley, who would often declare: “I’m 50. 50 years old.” But long before Shannon was even 40 (she’ll be 49 in September) and a couple of years before she became a comedy sensation, she appeared in a National Rifle Association ad, reports Gawker.

The pro-gun 1993 TV commercial, titled “Laughing Criminal,” features Shannon in a speaking role. Playing the staff member of an anti-gun congressman, according to Gawker, she shakes her head unhappily while telling the congressman: "You're in the re-election business." And about gun-control measures, she says, "We've already got 20,000 of them."

Gawker's story appeared shortly after a Mother Jones article that chronicles the history of National Rifle Association advertisments.

Shannon, who also authored the children’s book "Tilly the Trickster" and has starred in movies including "Bad Teacher" and "Evan Almighty," isn't usually thought of as a political influencer. She did, however, support President Obama’s re-election campaign and has supported his work with LGBT rights, Gawker notes. The website said it reached out to Shannon's publicists for comment but they hadn't responded.