--- description: President Barack Obama poised to talk gun control, possible executive order to curb gun violence, reminiscent of SNL Schoolhouse Rock skit title: This 'SNL' Schoolhouse Rock Sketch Is Suddenly Relevant Again image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This _Saturday Night Live_ Schoolhouse Rock Sketch Is Suddenly Relevant Again  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jan 4, 2016 7:25 PM CUT  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jan 4, 2016 7:25 PM CUT The news that President Obama [will spend the week preparing possible executive actions to curb gun violence](http://time.com/4166010/president-obama-gun-control/ "undefined") should remind political satire fans of the 2014 _Saturday Night Live_ parody of “I’m Just a Bill!” from _Schoolhouse Rock!_ In the sketch, a ruthless Obama—played by Jay Pharoah—demonstrates how Washington really works by pushing Kenan Thompson, dressed like a life-size piece of legislation, down the steps of Capitol Hill, to make room for Bobby Moynihan, who saunters onto the set smoking a cigarette and wearing a giant “Executive Order” button. This week’s news is ripe for a new version of the skit focused on his efforts to bypass lawmakers who are reluctant to pass stricter gun control legislation. _Read next:_ [_President Obama starts final year in office by tackling gun control_](http://time.com/4166010/president-obama-gun-control/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4166383/saturday-night-live-obama-executive-action-guns-schoolhouse-rock/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4166383/saturday-night-live-obama-executive-action-guns-schoolhouse-rock/"},"headline":"This Saturday Night Live Schoolhouse Rock Sketch Is Suddenly Relevant Again","datePublished":"2016-01-04T19:25:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:28:15.670Z","description":"President Obama is about to make moves on gun control, and luckily we have SNL to explain how that works","url":"https://time.com/4166383/saturday-night-live-obama-executive-action-guns-schoolhouse-rock/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4166383/saturday-night-live-obama-executive-action-guns-schoolhouse-rock/","name":"This Saturday Night Live Schoolhouse Rock Sketch Is Suddenly Relevant Again"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Obama Reacts to Mass Shootings Over the Years","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jAka99M0/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-01-04T17:30:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jAka99M0.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4166383/saturday-night-live-obama-executive-action-guns-schoolhouse-rock/","duration":"PT2M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4166383/saturday-night-live-obama-executive-action-guns-schoolhouse-rock/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```