How Will Amy Schumer Combat Gun Violence — UPDATE

Considering how popular Amy Schumer has become in recent months, it comes as no surprise that her feature film romantic comedy Trainwreck was one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. Unfortunately, the movie's premiere was marred in tragedy when there was a shooting at the Lafayette, Louisiana Trainwreck premiere. Although the comedian has already responded to the tragedy with her condolences, and several other celebrities have spoken out against gun violence in the interim, Schumer's most recent response is a mysterious one that promises things to come. On Saturday, Schumer responded to an open letter about the Lafayette shooting in which she confirmed that not only are her thoughts with the victims every day, but that she's "on it." The letter was specifically directed to her, and Schumer made it clear that this event was not something she had just brushed off.

"Her name was Mayci, not Marci and I think about her and Jillian everyday. Don't worry I'm on it. You'll see," she said in the tweet, to which the writer of the original letter, Sarah Clements, responded with a polite, "Thank you again for responding to my letter about gun violence. Will you talk about it on @TheDailyShow tomorrow? Good luck!" Of course, the vagueness of Schumer's tweet leaves it wide open for speculation as to exactly what she means by "on it" and what exactly it is "[we'll] see" if we wait long enough. As an outspoken feminist who uses comedy to entertain people while educating them about common things that women face everyday, there can be no doubt that whatever Schumer has planned has the potential to be a game changer.

(EDIT: Mashable revealed that she will be joining her cousin Sen. Chuck Schumer in a press conference at 11 a.m., Monday, Aug 3, in Manhattan to explain why "more needs to be done to prevent people, like violent criminals, abusers and the mentally ill, from too easily obtaining guns and using them to kill, sometimes in the form of a massacre.")

So what might Schumer have in mind? Will she be combating gun violence or simply commemorating the victims in some way? Is she going to talk about it on The Daily Show? The answers to those questions are pure speculation at this point, but there are a lot of options that the comedian, based on her career so far, might be likely to explore. The most likely option is for her to find a way to incorporate the cause into the next season of Inside Amy Schumer. The show, which has been on Comedy Central for two seasons before truly finding a huge mainstream audience in the third, is well-known at this point for its thoughtful yet comedic approach to serious issues, and for sketches that go out of their way to make people think.

Much like the sketch in which Schumer pointed out how silly it was for a woman to have to ask every man in her life, and male strangers on the street, whether or not birth control was right for her — which riffed off the increasing lack of say women are getting about their own bodies — the relatively easy availability of guns, and the frequent abuse of the Second Amendment, might provide great fodder for her to point out how silly lax gun control laws are in light of the comparative increase in mass shootings in the past few years. Schumer would approach the issue with the perfect amount of research and comedy, and could really put together an amazing sketch.

Of course, considering the serious nature of the tragedy, comedy might, for once, not be the approach that Schumer chooses to take. Another likely avenue is for her to found a cause or a campaign, restricting any use of comedy to the PSA videos, in order to raise awareness about the tragedy, the victims, and gun violence. She certainly wouldn't be short of celebrity support if she did choose to found a new charity to help victims of gun violence, nor would she be short of fan support in general and in wake of the tragedy.

Maybe she'll use her appearance on The Daily Show as a platform for something like that. Maybe she'll use her appearance on The Daily Show as a platform to discuss the tragedy in general. Maybe she won't use her appearance on The Daily Show as a platform at all. But, no matter what happens on Monday, August 3, Schumer has reassured us that she's got something up her sleeve to honor the victims, and, by now, I've learned to trust her.

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