back to article After Sandy Hook, Senator calls for violent video game probe

Gun control remains a politically fraught issue in the US, even after such events as the December 14 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, but one top lawmaker has proposed legislation that could lead to tighter restrictions on firearms – at least the imaginary kind. On Wednesday, Senator Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West …

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    1. Raggs

      Re: "68 mass shottings since 1982" or "I don't like Mondays" revisited.

      Don't know where you got that figure for Israels gun ownership...

      Soldiers (18-21) will indeed generally have a rifle, stored in a suitable cabinet at home (whilst at home, during the week they are on base). But not every house owns an 18-21 year old. And not all of them have rifles, most the girls do not, and a lot of soldiers are not combat soldiers, and thus carry no weapon.

      Outside of the forces, gun regulation is very very strict in Israel, and without a valid reason (generally employment, needs to be security) you cannot get one.

      Switzerland is perhaps where you were thinking, and their rules have changed in the last 5 years, they did have a very large gun death rate prior to these changes (keeping ammo for a town in one/two locations, instead of at home).

    2. EvilGav 1
      Stop

      Re: "68 mass shottings since 1982" or "I don't like Mondays" revisited.

      Switzerland has one of the highest guns per capita ratio in the world, largely because every male citizen does national service and is *required* to keep the gun serviced and in good order (ratio of a minimum estimated 1:2 gun per capita). Assault rifles are also common place.

      Number of homicides in 2009 (last published figures), was 84 amongst a population of 8 million - that's all homicides, not just gun related.

      The US has a population around 30 times higher and a gun homicide rate close to 120 times higher or the homicide rate per 100,000 is 4 times higher in the US than Switzerland, a country that *does* have high gun ownership.

      1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Thumb Up

        Re: "68 mass shottings since 1982" or "I don't like Mondays" revisited.

        "The US has a population around 30 times higher and a gun homicide rate close to 120 times higher or the homicide rate per 100,000 is 4 times higher in the US than Switzerland, a country that *does* have high gun ownership."

        I had thought Israel and Switzerland were similar in this regard. My bad.

        It's not looking good for the "We have more murders (in the US) because we're just bigger than you" PoV.

        Thanks for putting some numbers on the debate. I think a murder rate 4x bigger than the increase in population is what they call "statistically significant," but IANS.

  1. 1Rafayal
    FAIL

    maybe we should ban hands as well?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20790294

  2. g e
    Holmes

    How about a study on...

    The effect of continually being at war, telling your electorate they're perpetually under attack by mysterious unseen forces, glorifying conflict with Yeehaw-look-how-clever-we-are nosecam videos of bombs flying through 'enemies' pantry windows and woohoo-look-at-the-shockwave-from-that-2000-pounder and the endless bigging up of futuristic military weaponry on the design cards?

    Just a thought, y'know, putting an idea out there...

    1. Rampant Spaniel

      Re: How about a study on...

      The idea is welcome and valid. The root of the problem lies in a culture which is affected by many things, war, games, (perversely) a lack of a cultural identity (beyond beer good, truck manly, bbq good, which accounts for the drunk driving & obesity epidemics) and many more causes. It won't be quick, but it can be changed over time. There just cannot be any sacred goats anymore, it all has to be on the table. I'm not saying we need to ban games or guns, we just need to restore some balance and moderation. At the moment all the sliders are pushed to 10, things just need to be dialed back a bit. People just don't like hearing real answers because it means bellying up and accepting culpability. The parents that leave their kids in front of the tv / internet / computer need to do their job, the states need to get their acts together and provide proper educations, its a long list! :)

  3. GWT86
    WTF?

    If games lead to doom...

    If one were to say violent games were the leading cause of violent actions than my steam game list must mean I am far from the mild mannered Canadian that I say I am.

    Bioshock 1 & 2, Crysis 1, 2, Warhead, Wars, Darksiders 1 and 2, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War + every expansion, Fallout 1 through 3 plus New Vegas, Doom 1 through 3 plus the lost missions and the list goes on and on.

    Oh dear God...why won't someone stop me!?!

    Oh wait, it's because I'm a fully functioning member of the public.

    1. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: If games lead to doom...

      I prefer the games such as nuclear war or Defcon

      OMG I'm going to be a a James Bond villian and try blowing up the planet

      PS. Anyone got the number for AWE Aldermarston... I need 9.7kg of plutonium........ But its only for home defence

      1. GWT86
        Go

        Re: If games lead to doom...

        I'll give you his number if you promise to bribe me. Something nice and shiny please!

  4. Hnk0
    Boffin

    I'll help the moronic senator: Japan, haven of the most bizarre, hardcore and violent video games, also has the lowest rate of firearm murders in the developed world. Maybe not unrelatedly, it also has the lowest rate of gun ownership of any kind in the developed world. Quod erat demonstrandum.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Japan is sick murders

      Japan has no mass firearm murders?

      Sorry mister red herring!

      In Japan killers use large trucks and now down their own people and then when the truck no longer works try get out and start stabbing all their people on the sidewalks.

      Or they just let masses of poison gas loose in highly crowded public areas.

      Go away, you are not helping find any solutions with your rubbish!

      1. Hnk0
        Boffin

        Re: Japan is sick murders

        Maybe Japan has truck murders, but you will notice the discussion is about murders committed with guns.

        And anyway, I like data, so take a look at this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate#By_country

        Japan: 0.3 per 100,000 inhabitants

        UK: 1.2

        US: 4.2

      2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Meh

        AC@21:10

        "Go away, you are not helping find any solutions with your rubbish!"

        Perhaps you should take your own advice.

  5. Piro Silver badge

    But hold on a moment

    The kid's mother was a gun nut, he had access to guns, the very guns he used, and as far as I know, there are no games where you shoot pre-teens.

    So to me, it seems like the access to the guns was the problem.

    Ah, screw it, there's no sense in America, always blame something else.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: But hold on a moment

      What a great idea for a new video game ;-)

  6. Spanners Silver badge
    FAIL

    Moronic

    The only way to kill someone with an XBox is to hit someone with it. It is probably not even very good at that as all the plastic will break and the attacker would probably not get very blows in with it. They probably would not get very many victims either.

    If they had a gun and a box full of bullets they would have more success. I wonder if this is an attempt at distraction from the actual devices that are used to kill people.

  7. PatientOne

    What assault rifle???

    I wish people would stop referring to the rifle used as an assault rifle. It was a semi-automatic rifle, which by that very definition denies it being an assault rifle!

    An assault rifle: A rifle capable of sustained or burst fire. In the US, citizens cannot own automatic or burst fire weapons : These are military weapons. So an assault rifle would not be in the hands of a private citizen legally - no need for a new law there.

    I've also seen mention of the rifle being a 'sub-machine gun'. So it fired pistol rounds in burst or sustained fire, then? Erm, not according to the BBC reports. If it did use 9mm pistol rounds, it would still be a rifle due to the size of the gun itself.

    So it was a rifle. Magazine fed, yes, and perhaps styled after a military rifle - they do exist after all - but it was a semi-automatic rifle, not an assault rifle.

    1. 1Rafayal
      Unhappy

      Re: What assault rifle???

      Most people outside the US do not understand the difference between an assault rifle, a submachine gun or a semi-automatic rifle.

      All they see is a bloody big gun that uses the same rounds as a military rifle, and in this case, used to kill 20 little kids for no reason.

      I guess this has something to do with the wide spread proliferation of firearms within the US...

      1. EvilGav 1
        Facepalm

        Re: What assault rifle???

        Really? So, nobody outside the US has been in the military; nobody outside the US shoots guns for sport/hobby; nobody outside the US studies military history . . . etc etc, continus ad nauseum.

        *You* may not know the difference, many hundreds of thousands of people do.

        And which military rifle? A US 7.62mm or a NATO 5.65mm round? The former designed to kill, the latter designed to wound (no, i'm not joking).

        1. 1Rafayal
          FAIL

          Re: What assault rifle???

          I think you may have missed my incredibly subtle point there.

          Also, are you seriously trying to tell everyone here that a NATA 5.56 is designed to wound people and not kill them? Do you understand what bullets are for? I take it you must be talking about those magic bullets that know when they are about to hit someone in a particularly fatal point on their body and turn into a cloud of wishes just in time...

          The type of round used to kill all those little children in Sandy Hook uses the same size bullet as a NATO 5.56. The only difference between the two rounds is the dimensions of the case.

          Still want to insist that the 5.56/.223 is a round designed to maim? Or would you like to reconsider your idiotic comment and instead consider that the type of rifle used to fire that round was designed to maim - you know, like the SA80.

          Or, if you prefer to continue you moronic escapade, maybe you would like to assert your ideas in front of the poor parents of those 20 dead innocent children instead? I am sure they will be relieved to hear that this type of round was designed to maim and not kill.

          You utter knob.

      2. PatientOne

        Re: What assault rifle???

        @1Rafayal

        You're probably right, but I prefer people to be accurate in their reporting. It's partly the developer in me, partly a military background. It's like someone calling out there's a tank approaching when it's an APC - it's... wrong. It also gives opponents to tighter gun laws ammunition to use against change: Assault guns are banned so why change the law when one was reportedly used? Let people keep their semi-automatics: No one's been hurt by those, have they?

        Really irritates me: It's a semi-automatic that was used and that's the issue that needs addressing: Why do civilians need semi-automatic weapons? Limit them to bolt action, or better yet, breach loading (I doubt banning guns entirely would work just yet). Hunting weapons don't need to self-load. Sporting guns don't need to self-load. It might not have stopped the shooting, but it may have reduced the number of deaths.

        Regardless, it doesn't bring the kids back. Or the teachers.

    2. BenR
      FAIL

      Re: What assault rifle???

      You know what - you've hit the nail right on the head.

      He didn't use an ASSAULT rifle to massacre twenty six-year old children, six of their teachers and his own mother. It was just a boggo rifle that he only had to walk into his front room, pick up and kill people with

      Our mistake - that's perfectly fine then.

      Idiot.

      1. PatientOne

        Re: What assault rifle???

        @BenR

        Oh, dear: You don't appreciate the concept of accurate reporting, then?

        People were killed: That isn't fine. That it was a commonly available legally owned semi-automatic rifle that was used is the problem. Calling it an assault rifle confuses the issue. It wasn't an assault rifle: It was a sports rifle. Big difference in gun terms, and in the potential outcome: An assault rifle would have resulted in a lot more deaths, for one.

        This doesn't make the deaths that did happen acceptable, but it might make people think about the guns they own: Do they really need a semi-automatic rifle? If they don't, perhaps, just perhaps, they'll surrender the gun and ammunition and that might, just might, stop another incident like this happening.

        It doesn't bring back the dead. But accuracy in reporting might just stop this shit from happening again.

        1. BenR
          Thumb Up

          Re: What assault rifle???

          Now both of your previous are ones I can (semi-) agree with. Shame you didn't make your point that clearly originally.

          I would argue that they don't even need that ready an access to weaponry at all, but that's a different argument entirely.

  8. Vordicae
    Facepalm

    Want AD on Generic Auction website :

    WANTED : GOAT ..

    must be covered in "Scape" and cleaned and prepped for slaughter !

    Postage paid to The WHITEHOUSE, payable to GUN LOBBY

    Enquiries to 1-800-PLEASEDONTTAKEMYGUNSAWAY!

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ban the Mentally ill from playing

    Playing realistic violent games of today actually blurs reality and fiction in certain situations. So if you are playing a special ops soldier needing to shoot at heads of your enemy to ensure instant kill, we tend to unconsciously bring this thinking in the real world especially when stressed.

    So at the very least ban violent games from the hands of the mentally ill or on psychotic meds. Many mass murders were committed by these folks and in many cases these guys seem to love violent shooting games too. Once reality warps into fiction, schoolchildren and family members stop being real and become a fair target in the minds of the sick.

    1. Mooseman Silver badge

      Re: Ban the Mentally ill from playing

      "So if you are playing a special ops soldier needing to shoot at heads of your enemy to ensure instant kill, we tend to unconsciously bring this thinking in the real world especially when stressed."

      Really? Is this a researched assessment or just a subjective statement? I suspect what you mean is that *some* mentally ill people can't always tell reality from whatever their illness is creating in their heads. I know dozens of people who play violent video games, some of them are mentally ill (severe depression etc) and none of them have shot anyone or even gone crazy with a cricket bat.

      Are you suggesting there should be a mental health assessment before you are allowed to play a video game?

      People have always gone off the rails and committed vile crimes, long before video games and tv and Hollywood were invented. Don't fall for this knee-jerk response and blame something like video games or rock music - anyone who even contemplates making a link between mass murder and pressing a few buttons on an xbox has clearly already made up their mind that the cause is proven. It's just a way of avoiding the real issue and shifting blame on to an easy target, rather than bite the bullet (pun intended).

      1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Thumb Up

        Re: Ban the Mentally ill from playing

        "People have always gone off the rails and committed vile crimes, long before video games and tv and Hollywood were invented. Don't fall for this knee-jerk response and blame something like video games or rock music - anyone who even contemplates making a link between mass murder and pressing a few buttons on an xbox has clearly already made up their mind that the cause is proven. It's just a way of avoiding the real issue and shifting blame on to an easy target, rather than bite the bullet (pun intended)."

        Going back to the 50's the moral panic was about comics

        This led to the self censorship of the "Comics code."

        The flip side being the legendarily violent and sexual (and sexually violent) Japanese comic box and the fact that murder rates are very low in the country, as is rape.

        In the 80's it was videos, in the 90's it was rap music.

        Are we seeing a pattern here?

        Thumbs up to Mooseman for not falling for this line of BS.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Proven: Crims get all the guns when the people are suppressed!

    In Australia the whole customs and port authorities are in the middle if a large black cloud moment as official after official are being arrested for allowing.

    A) large illegal drug shipments and

    B) large illegal ***guns*** shipments

    And both are tied into large criminal syndicates...

    When all those Sydney shootings get done by wankers with illegal guns yet the legal firearm owning community gets the blame and oppressed even more by the blind eye govt.

    Welcome to your future USA!

    When Israel had a problem with kids being murdered and bombed they armed all teachers with semi-auto hand guns. Guess what? Deadly criminal acts against children stopped! You western world wanks ban guns, guess what? Your crime exists and climbs statistically post implantation of laws banning them.

    What sign will prevent you, on anti-depressant medication as feeling a bit loner and looney from killing kid?

    1) A sign with a gun and knife with a big red no symbol and words saying weapon free zone?

    2) A sign with a symbol of a person aiming a rifle saying all teachers are fully armed and will shoot and kill anyone who attempts to harm our children?

    Yeah I figure you would go 1). Now look at your crime ridden scared to walk around on your streets, youth crime out of control rubbish place to live in.

    I'm talking about you UK!

    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Thumb Down

      AC@21:13

      "When Israel had a problem with kids being murdered and bombed they armed all teachers with semi-auto hand guns. Guess what? Deadly criminal acts against children stopped! You western world wanks ban guns, guess what? Your crime exists and climbs statistically post implantation of laws banning them."

      I'll take a wild guess and expect most of those to be Palestinians or jihadists (no the two are not the same, except to Americans) rather than a random loon.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: AC@21:13

        Way to post your racist comments. No one brought up race but you have to.

    2. Mooseman Silver badge

      Re: Proven: Crims get all the guns when the people are suppressed!

      "Now look at your crime ridden scared to walk around on your streets, youth crime out of control rubbish place to live in. I'm talking about you UK!"

      Yes that's right, we in the UK have a huge gun problem, every week we hear of yet another shooting by a nutter going walkabout with his famiy's arsenal of semi-automatic weaponry.......

      Yes, we have a few gang related gun deaths every year. What does prevent a "loner and looney " (your words) from killing kids is the LACK OF FLIPPING MILITARY GRADE FIREARMS.

      Yes, Israel armed some teachers when jihadist suicide bombers were targetting schools, not because a couple of citizens went crazy.

      I detect from your post that you are a member of the "legal firearm owning community" and are jumping up and down in a fury about your precious guns being possibly restricted. But look at it this way - you may be a responsible well-balanced citizen who collects guns, only fires them at a properly run range, keeps them securely locked away when not in use etc etc. However, all it takes is one person to be less conscientious than you and suddenly you have 20 dead chidren. What is the government to do? Government isn't a subtle tool, they can only introduce fairly broad laws to limit or control firearms.

      I've seen the whiny comments about the banning of handguns after Dunblane and the frothing panic by gun lovers after Sandy Hook - and frankly my response is "who cares?" Does your hobby matter more to you than the lives of little children?

      1. EvilGav 1
        Thumb Down

        Re: Proven: Crims get all the guns when the people are suppressed!

        Well, that is a lovely, balanced and above all well reasoned response.

        Oh no, wait, it isn't.

        It's the response of someone who wants something banned that wont affect them and that they perceive as a problem that needs banning.

        Ok, *some* people drink to excess and cause violence. Ban all drink.

        *some* people smoke in a manner that affects others. Ban all smoking.

        *some* people abuse prescription medication. Ban all prescription medication.

        *some* people use radio controlled aircraft for nefarious activities. Ban all radio controlled aircraft.

        *some* people continually drive in a dancgerous manner. Ban all cars.

        *some* people endanger pedestrians by cycling on the pavement. Ban all bicycles.

        Now, I could continue this list ad infinitum, but hopefully i've covered enough to hit at least one of your hobbies and past-times or at least given an insight so that, maybe, you can match up with one of your past-times. Maybe it might have even pricked you're brains enough into understanding that the law shouldn't be about controlling the majority because of a minority.

        1. Mooseman Silver badge

          Re: Proven: Crims get all the guns when the people are suppressed!

          "some" people think it;s ok for nutters to be armed with semi automatic rifles...

          I fail to see your oh-so-clever point. Smoking drinking etc don't usually kill random passersby etc. You're being a pathetic apologist for your "hobby". Man up, accept the facts. Guns kill people. It's what they were desgned to do from first principles. And before you bleat on about "people kill people", does that argument extend to all forms of death dealing stuff? Why stop at assault rifles? Howitzers are lovely, they don't kill people. Nukes don't either. Yes, I'm being facetious but you started this by being ridiculous.

          1. EvilGav 1
            FAIL

            Re: Proven: Crims get all the guns when the people are suppressed!

            Really, drinking doesn't affect random others?

            That's quite interesting, given around 17,000 people were killed last year by drink drivers and 50,000 injured in the US.

            And if smoking *doesn't* kill random people, why is it banned in most public places?

      2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Unhappy

        Re: Proven: Crims get all the guns when the people are suppressed!

        " you may be a responsible well-balanced citizen who collects guns, only fires them at a properly run range, keeps them securely locked away when not in use etc etc. "

        Somehow I rather doubt it. I think they are more from the SEL end of the spectrum.

        "I've seen the whiny comments about the banning of handguns after Dunblane and the frothing panic by gun lovers after Sandy Hook - and frankly my response is "who cares?" Does your hobby matter more to you than the lives of little children?"

        Do you really want to play the TOTC card?

        Because that way leads to everyone being imprisoned "Just in case."

        1. Mooseman Silver badge

          Re: Proven: Crims get all the guns when the people are suppressed!

          TOTC is regularly abused by any twat who wants to control your life in lots of little pointless ways.

          However, there comes a point when you have to take a step back from freedom at all costs and look around yourself. If a state has come to the point of even considering arming school teachers or having armed guards at primary schools, I think it's lost the plot. Sometimes you actually do have to think about children.

          1. John Smith 19 Gold badge

            Re: Proven: Crims get all the guns when the people are suppressed!

            "TOTC is regularly abused by any twat who wants to control your life in lots of little pointless ways."

            My point exactly. When I said Dunblane was the first pre teen school shooting in the UK I actually meant the only one in the UK. I'm not sure how many the US has had, but this is not AFAIK the first.

            "However, there comes a point when you have to take a step back from freedom at all costs "

            I'd suggest anyone who thinks the British enjoy "freedom at all costs" has either never lived there or not lived there for some time. Otherwise they might like to try exercising that freedom by say applying for a gun license.

            I'll repeat the UK situation is not (and never will be) the US situation. It's history is very different from the US.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Stupid gun loving Americans...

    Stupid gun loving Americans. I reserve the right to say that after losing my brother to gun violence in a major US city! They never caught the guys because the powers-that-be were too busy waging illegal wars to enrich Haliburton and Big Oil!

    1. Lets not talk about Mayor's that have tried to sue gun-makers to help pay for the lethal costs to American cities.

    2. Lets not mention the corrupt suburban gun dealers that escape jail time.

    3. Definitely lets not talk about how easy it is to buy assault rifles at gun-fairs without a single background check...

    4. Or the ease with which gang-bangers can get firearms from lax out-of-state gun sales.

    Instead lets hire some congressmen and PR asses to blame Tarantino and Halo! As always the real smoking gun is the NRA. The right to bear arms...yeah against children!i

  12. XioNYC
    Alert

    Time for a multimillion dollar study

    ...because last I checked the study that linked video game violence to actual violence was debunked.

    Perhaps the distinguished gentleman from West Virginia would like to kill two birds with one stone (if you'll forgive me) by employing a few people to research if causality exists.

    I could use the job. That would keep me from playing video games.

  13. Matt Bradley
    Black Helicopters

    "Guns protect our freedom"

    Isn't it interesting that the US will happily limit freedom of expression if it means they get to keep their guns? So much for the second amendment securing the freedom of the people.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Many missing the point

    Seeing as though the dude stole the rifle and ammo, passing legislation to ban certain guns is silly and meritless. He also carried two hand guns with many rounds of ammo.

    What we need to do is arm every adult and then the odds are equal. You want to show up at a school, church or public event and start shooting, expect to die after your first shot because 50 people will be shooting back at you. Teachers in Texas are allowed to be armed and I expect many other schools and people will be armed to protect themselves and others from mentally disturbed people who go on rampages.

    BTW, those who think banning guns will resolve anything are naive. If you ban guns then only the bad guys will have them and everyone else will be defenseless. In addition if someone wants to kill people and they can't get a gun, they'll build a pipe bomb. Hell there are plans all over the internet for this and they frequently turn up at schools or public buildings often with deadly consequences. Banning guns is not going to stop or reduce human carnage caused by those who want to kill and injure other people. Proper defensive measures however can reduce the loss of life if the perp is taken out quickly by armed adults who can save many people's lives.

    If you want to test this theory, walk into a local tavern filled with cops who just got off work and pull out a gun and see how quickly you are out-numbered about 50 to 1 by the cops with guns. That's how it would be if all adults were properly trained in firearm use and licensed to carry a handgun.

    1. Mooseman Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Many missing the point

      Just ....wtf ??

    2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Trollface

      Re: Many missing the point

      "What we need to do is arm every adult and then the odds are equal. You want to show up at a school, church or public event and start shooting, expect to die after your first shot because 50 people will be shooting back at you. Teachers in Texas are allowed to be armed and I expect many other schools and people will be armed to protect themselves and others from mentally disturbed people who go on rampages."

      Time to put him on a diet.

      If you can't put your name on the post don't post.

    3. Mooseman Silver badge

      Re: Many missing the point

      What you are missing here is that most of the people who go barking mad with guns are just that - barking mad to some degree or other. They no longer see people as people, of any consequence or value at all. And they don't actually think about surviving most of the time - yes your 50 armed heroes might blast away at what the NRA calls a "bad guy" (still think you're living in a Hollywood western guys?) but he will nevertheless have probably killed half a dozen people before your good guys are even aware of what's going on. Beside which, can you imagine 50 guns firing at once? You better hope that they are all crack marksmen. I've fired handguns (before they were banned here) - I *know* how innacurate they are at any kind of range. So, heat of the moment shooting by probably panicked people with handguns with dubious accuracy at a person quite happily firing semi auto or auto rifles at you. How many bystanders are you willing to kill to get your "bad guy"?

  15. Maty

    But ... games might help

    How does our asshat senator not know that violent video games don't help the potentially violent?

    It's not unusual to fantasize about violently letting rip though, being sane, most people don't actually do it. I had a very stressful workplace a decade ago which I reconstructed as a set in Doom. After a bad day at the office I'd sit down at the computer, frag the place and its monstrous occupants with a rocket launcher, then emerge from the study a much more relaxed individual.

    So perhaps violent video games might allow the violent or distressed to harmlessly blow off steam. But I can't see any empirical evidence that they encourage them to take their activities into the real world. As a matter of interest the word 'amok' comes from people running that way in pre-xbox Malayan culture.

  16. Boris S.

    Right...

    We know from the military's use of violent video games to desensitize recruits, that video games most definitely have an impact on the psyche of those who are considered stable personality types. There is no reason to believe that the same violent video games would not have a negative impact on those who are less mentally stable. This isn't rocket science and certainly can be properly evaluated via testing.

    However we are not always able to identify those who are mentally challeneged and thus we have a conflict. Should violent video games be banned, toned down or allowed to exist in the best form for commercial success in spite of the repercussions to society? No one has shown that there is some redeeming value to graphic violence in video games be it social or financial. Sex on the otherhand does net greater profits for unscrupulous purveyors of video games to youth.

    It would be naive to think that video games or guns alone are the problem. The solution to violence is complicated and long term. There are no quick fixes as first you need to change the environment and then the menatality, before there is any hope of reducing violence.

    1. Mooseman Silver badge

      Re: Right...

      Agreed, there is no quick fix. I would argue however that removing guns from the equation would rather reduce the death rate. I find some video games unpleasant and pointless, I don't enjoy what some call the pornongraphy of violence. I also don't see how one can on one hand point the finger at video games/ violent films (yet again...) while simply ignoring the elephant in the room - this young man went crazy with a gun, it doesn't matter whether it's an assault rifle, a semi-auto rifle or a small pistol. No gun = no shooting.

      I'm continually astonished by the American people's willingness to accept that *anything* other than guns is the problem - video games, comics, rock music, you name it. Not guns, oh no.

      In reply to an earlier post, of course I'm aware drunk drivers cause huge numbers of casualties, but nobody is suggesting surely that people with remorseless regularity go out and deliberately drive into a group of passers-by or school children? It happens, yes, but it is phenomenally rare. To compare road accidents for whatever cause with deliberate murder by gun is pointless.

      1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Unhappy

        Re: Right...

        " I would argue however that removing guns from the equation would rather reduce the death rate. I"

        True.

        But in the USA right now that is simply not going to happen. At best there is some consensus (including the NRA, which does matter) that could lead to action that will cut down some of the problems that cause gun deaths. Wheather any of what is politically possible would have changed things in this case is likely debatable but this is a country with 2-3 mass shootings a year at present, which IDK seems a tad high to me.

  17. Chris 228

    Guns are not the problem

    Guns are not the problem any more than alcohol is the cause of auto accidents. People who make bad choices are the problem. In the U.S. it's a Constitutional right to bear arms so guns are not going to disappear even if they actually passed a law banning them, which they won't. If they banned guns then law abiding citizens would be defenseless against criminals who do have guns.

    As we see in Europe where there are fewer guns, mentally unstable people still slaughter children in schools. If people want to kill other people they will find a way be it a gun, knife , bomb or grenade. The NRA made a valid recommendation that all schools have armed security. While I have never supported the NRA their suggestion is appropriate in this day and age. The school security personnel should also be properly trained to deal with both domestic and foreign terror threats, as they are as real today as a heart attack.

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