Article of Fact

Gun Violence and Video Games

In recent news, over the last decade, gun violence and mass shootings have been an almost everyday occurrence. With many people wanting to have some form of gun control, we have to stop and think about all of the other outlets of where this violence is coming from. My theory, along with many other believers, is that gun violence and mass shootings directly correlate to video games with younger adolescents.

While many people are split on the topic of wether or not video games correlate to mass shootings, I believe it to be true. If you think about it, when you give a child a video game where it is the goal to kill people before their brain has had the proper time to develop. When you introduce a child at a young age to something and let them have free range. President Trump spoke after the Parkland, FL. shooting and said that he believes that violent video games and movies may play a role in school shootings. Trump also said that movies are “so violent” in a meeting on school safety on February 22nd, earlier this year. One example of video games correlating to both gun violence and mass shootings, is when Nikolas Cruz who was the killer at the Miami shooting at Parkland’s public high school. Sources have claimed that he in fact played video games for up to 15 hours a day.

The argument of video games correlating to gun violence became a common topic after the Columbine in Denver, CO. Mitt Romney in 2007 claimed that “pornography and violence” were to blame for the murders int he Virginia Tech shooting of 32 students. Another example is Adam Lanza who was the killer behind the 26 children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary school in CT. Such video games that can lead to this violent streak in young adolescents is the Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, and Mortal Kombat, and Splatterhouse.

Many people are split on this topic of wether or not video games do affect the cause of mass shootings however as I mentioned before, President Trump strongly believes that video games are to blame. Kentucky governor Matt Balvin said the following...

“Guns are not the problem. We have a cultural problem in America... You look at the ‘culture of death’ that is being celebrated. There are video games, that yes, are listed for mature audiences, but kids play them and everybody knows it and there’s nothing to prevent the child from playing them, that celebrate the slaughtering of people. These are quote-unquote video games, and they’re forced down our throats under the guise of protected speech,” Bevin added. “It’s garbage. It’s the same as pornography. They have desensitized people to the value of human life, to the dignity of women, to the dignity of human decency.”

All in all, I believe that gun violence is directly correlated to mass shootings especially when you look at the statistics of young adolescents viewing and or playing video games that involve killing. I feel that soon enough there will be studies created in order to examine these murders in order to see what habitual forms are bringing them to this state in where committing mass shootings is acceptable and is justified.