Politicians Once Again Blame Video Games After Deadly Shootings

4.3
Not even a day after one mass shooting claimed 20 lives in El Paso, Texas and another resulted in nine dead in a Dayton, Ohio bar, lawmakers have quickly taken to mainstream news outlets in hopes of pinning the blame on video games. Approximately 15 hours after the first shots were fired in an El Paso Walmart, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) appeared as a guest on Fox News' Fox & Friends and inquired what the federal government had planned to do "about the video game industry."

“How long are we going let, for example, and ignore at the federal level particularly, where they can do something about the video game industry,” Patrick asked. The politician then references an apparent manifesto that surfaced online minutes before the attack in which the alleged shooter spewed anti-immigration ideologies while mentioning the Call of Duty franchise. Authorities have yet to confirm the manifesto is linked to the El Paso shooter.

“In this manifesto that we believe is from the shooter … he talks about living out his super soldier fantasy on ‘Call of Duty,’” continued Patrick. “We’ve always had guns. We’ve always had evil. But what’s changed where we see this rash of shooting?”


Patrick then mentioned that video games seem to be the "common denominator" amongst mass shooters. “I see a video game industry that teaches young people to kill,” he said. The Lt. Governor isn't the only right-leaning politician to lean into the ide since the shootings. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) also appeared on Fox News and was sure to bring up violent video games in his interview.

“The idea of these video games, they dehumanize individuals to have a game of shooting individuals and others,” McCarthy said. “When you look at these photos of how [the El Paso shooting] took place, you can see the actions within video games and others.”


Despite McCarthy's claims, researchers at England's University of Oxford published a study earlier this year that violent video games don't have an influence on the aggressive behavior of teens.

"The idea that violent video games drive real-world aggression is a popular one, but it hasn’t tested very well over time," study lead Professor Andrew Przybylski said at the time. "Despite interest in the topic by parents and policy-makers, the research has not demonstrated that there is cause for concern."


Since the first of the year, 252 mass shootings have been recorded with upwards of 282 killed between all incidents.

Posted:
Last Updated:
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/08/04/el-paso-mass-shooting-republicans-blame-video-games/

Comments

"Politicians Once Again Blame Video Games After Deadly Shootings" :: Login/Create an Account :: 29 comments

If you would like to post a comment please signin to your account or register for an account.

TTGPosted:

Honestly people should know it's a GAME, but politics make it seem so much more and blame games more than the parents themselves.

Mario350Posted:

now i see why people dont like politics in video games because these people are just pure retards and need to learn that mental illness and lack of parenting being bulled in school and being in the middle of no where where theres nothing is the cause of psycopaths and murrders, not games, since 90% of people know the difference between real life and a game, i was only 5 or 6 when i started getting into m rated games from being a scare for seeing blood which is why i never played zelda oot until late 2012, games have nothing to do with the mass shootings its the lack of laws that allow civs to be able to buy guns without a license in the us thats the cause of them, here in canada and in montreal we had the major collage shooting and that masque shooting if i recall it was in quebec, but as you can see the pattern that in canada that shootings are rare, so when the us fking smartens up and follows canada's way of handling guns aka must be 18+ and have a full license to own a gun, and only allow pistols to the license holders, but i can go to the us get an ak ar15 m16(if its not military only) ect without a license and without being id because i look 14 at the age of 24, why because you are allowed to buy a gun in the us, well not really sure about the age for it in the us but yeah its real easy to buy guns.

just do what we do here in the not so great white north since we arent the north pole is license needing to own a gun which these are pretty hard to get, and you arent allowed to walk with them outside so thats a plus, unless you have another license for it im not sure how the whole license sh*t works but all i do know is license owning=less shootings less shootings=us becomes a good country that i wouldnt be scared to visit.

when will americans learn that you dont need a gun for self defence, but knifes are also illegal to carry as well here as far as i am aware that law might have been changed or someone told me a lie about knifes being illegal to carry but not to own, but yeah we do have a knifing issue more but thats also rare same with the mass and normal shootings, once in like 10 or more years there will be a shooting here in canada again well maybe in montreal but there might be somewhere else in canada but if there is i never heard of any and this is a guy that watches canadian news which also covers american news for some reason.

but again america doesnt need guns to feel safe they need to learn that from us canadians, do we need guns to feel safe no do we need self defense yes do we really need guns no leave guns to the military and cops only, they should be the only ones allowed to have guns, not civs, this is why im a strong license needing guy and i know all americans hate me because im all for restricting guns to needing a license and harder to buy.

just because i say i say im gonna do so and so doesnt mean im gonna do it irl, so no its not the games fault its the persons fault that they werent loved as a child and or their parents dont care and their mental health

MDAPosted:

Omg cmon this is stupid. Games are games, real life is real life.

junoPosted:

how do games have anything to do with this? they really don't have a damn clue!

OGTrey079Posted:

Video games don't kill people.. people kill people. Guy probably is mentally ill if they sayin video games influenced it.

ChatPosted:

It's reidlcious, it's the gun laws and the stupid bullshit.

Just because I want to strangle kids on Call Of Duty when they camp or play like an idiot, doesn't mean I'd attempt to get a gun or let alone want to harm anyone..

I don't understand how you can say this causes mass shootings, mass shootings are happening because of mental illnesses or whatever reason you want to pretend like it is or not, I've played Violent games my entire life, sure I get angry and say some shit, look back at MW2 it was pure fun, banter and having a laugh it was never serious.

to say that oh " It's because of this " it's stupid, if you was to set up and do tests I 100% bet if the person got mad or upset with the game, it would not effect their mental health, all I see online is tests that state that it helps with what? reaction time etc... they will come up with anything so they do not have to admit to how they are handling the situation with their laws etc.

LebronIs6Posted:

LostPhone
naterocks500 Wrote a six page research paper on this back in high school. The information along with the studies are available online very easily and it points always to no effect, and the fact that anyone still thinks violent video games have any effect on aggression just goes to show they are delusional...


They do, it's simple.
Violent video games do not turn non violent people into killers, however they do have a potential over time to desensitize people to violence. When a person with pre-existing mental illness who is predisposed to violence plays enough violent video games, they cant become desensitized enough to the point they are willing to carry out atrocities.

Regardless, banning violence in games or anything is an infringement of U.S citizen rights and thus should not ever be pursued.


Oh, you must have a masters degree in psychology, you're completely right.

Darklord1488Posted:

As someone who listens to heavy metal/gangster rap for over 20 years, daily, has seen my share of gore online, owns guns, and plays video games, I should fit the bill for being a violent criminal, right?

Wrong. While I don't think anyone has a definitive answer for why people do this, I lean towards mental illness.

I don't think any of the multimedia scapegoats are really an issue at all, I think it's just the individual has something wrong with them. People have always been violent.

Really tired of seeing everyone blame music, movies, videogames etc

MazePosted:

It's hard to believe that we have people in the government that are this incompetent. There is a serious problem in the the country and state you are helping run and blame it on something that is proven not a factor time and time again.
Gotta love it being a Republican, from TEXAS, on FOX AND FRIENDS LMAOOO

naterocks500Posted:

LostPhone
naterocks500 Wrote a six page research paper on this back in high school. The information along with the studies are available online very easily and it points always to no effect, and the fact that anyone still thinks violent video games have any effect on aggression just goes to show they are delusional...


They do, it's simple.
Violent video games do not turn non violent people into killers, however they do have a potential over time to desensitize people to violence. When a person with pre-existing mental illness who is predisposed to violence plays enough violent video games, they cant become desensitized enough to the point they are willing to carry out atrocities.

Regardless, banning violence in games or anything is an infringement of U.S citizen rights and thus should not ever be pursued.


I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion it desensitizes you, since that's reliant on whether a mental illness is making you believe that the violence in a video game is real or not. I've played GTA since I was 5 years old, and I will still puke if I see real life bloody injuries or anything remotely close to that. Being able to tell the difference between a game and reality is key here, and most people can tell the difference. And on the chance it does somehow desensitize someone, it has never been proven that there is any link between that and violent tendencies, because in most cases someone with those tendencies are already desensitized to violence.