Sololiya Ebba | The Chronicle
Late-night television has always been where America unwinds and laughs at itself; poking fun at political figures, mocking pop culture icons and turning the chaos of our nation into a comedic sketch. Lately, the jokes have become stale.
On September 15th, 2025, late-night star Jimmy Kimmel made comments regarding the tragic death of conservative podcaster and activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel, who has never shied away from using his platform to speak out about issues of gun violence, became the center of controversy once again, this time facing waves of criticism from right-wing commentators who accused him of a “mischaracterization” of Kirk’s accused shooter.
Kimmel did not mischaracterize anything. Rather, he spotlighted the hypocrisy that lies at the heart of America’s gun debate: pro-gun voices are quick to assign blame until the trigger is in their own hands.
On September 17th, 2025, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) announced that it would be pulling Kimmel’s late-night show off the air “indefinitely”. What was once a space for satire had become too controversial, too politically charged, too honest.
This is what happens when outrage drowns out understanding. When the right to bear arms eclipses the right to speak freely.
The moment Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air was the moment that it was clear that the right to free speech in our nation is no longer absolute. It’s conditional. We celebrate it when it reinforces our own narratives, but condemn it when it challenges them. We applaud “bravery” when a celebrity says something we agree with, but demand silence when their message makes us uncomfortable. And while ABC restored Jimmy Kimmel Live! only days later, the outrage proved that it is easier to punish truth than confront it.
Charlie Kirk’s unfortunate death could have united Americans in the wake of the dangers of extremism and division. Yet, the discourse spiraled into anger and accusation as online factions pointed fingers everywhere but at the true issue.
America has a gun problem, and dissenting voices are being silenced.
In 2024 alone, there were 332 shooting incidents at K-12 schools, leading to 267 injuries and fatalities. In that same year, approximately 44,400 people died from gun-related injuries, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Guns are killing America.
Parents fear the day they send their kids to school, and politicians make speeches behind bulletproof glass. So why is this still a debate? How many more children have to die? And why, when the victim of gun violence is suddenly a pro-gun, conservative, white man, do we lower our nation’s flag to half-mast when the same respect is not given to the hundreds of children whose lives are cut short in their classrooms?
Today, we have weaponized patriotism. Selective constitutionalism drives conversations and fuels ideological wars between the left and the right. While politicians loudly denounce “cancel culture” or the supposed dangers of free expression, they defend firearms with unshakable conviction, even as bullets take lives, silence classrooms, and terrorize communities. The pattern stretches beyond comedy and commentary: books that explore race, gender, and sexuality are being banned from school libraries; teachers are censored for discussing history or systemic inequality; journalists and media figures who question gun culture are attacked or threatened. Words that challenge the status quo are treated as dangerous, while guns remain untouchable.
The message is clear: in America, voices are expendable, but weapons are sacred.
Charlie Kirk is one of over 330 gun deaths this year, as of October 8th, 2025. This is not about the left and the right, or liberals and conservatives. It is time we drop the agendas. This is about preserving humanity.
When Kimmel ended his monologue, he said, “The First Amendment isn’t just for the people you agree with.” It is a simple truth, but one our country seems to be forgetting. Freedom can not exist in fragments; in the same way, we, as Americans, can not hide behind guns and silence voices at the same time.
A nation that fears words more than bullets is no longer the “land of the free.”
