NRA Blames Video games for shootings...

So, it seems that video games are once again in the spotlight, according to the NRA (National Rifle Association).

Just watching the live feed at work and the chairman is currenly stating that Video Games are partly to blame for the killings last week.

Im sorry, I have nothing against gun ownership and I believe people have the right to protect their homes but theres absolutely no reason anyone should own an ASSAULT rifle. Its ment for what it says on the tin, Assault. These are not the things you hunt deer and the likes with. These guns are not ment for self protection but for an assault/ killing people.

Good ole' Yanks, eh...

Can't see the wood for the trees...

If videogames didn't exist there'd still be nutters who owned guns and wouldn't think twice about using one...

Videogames kill -
not our Ak-47s that we give away with each family size Jack-in-the-box meal.
Such rubbish !

...because non-existent guns are far more deadly than real ones.

Fox and CNN blames Mass Effect originally pretty much as soon as the story broke.

That's the most pathetic excuse ever. They just came up with the first excuse they could think of to divert attention away from gun ownership, cause without guns their stupid little organisation wouldn't exist. They're just justifying their existence.

He also proposed the answer to protecting against school shootings is:

More guns! Put armed *volunteer* police officers in every school in the country. Oh that's exactly what parents want, the prospect of there being guns inside their kid's schools no matter what!

What an asshat.

Coming from a man whose surname is McAsshativic, those are strong words.

It takes an asshat to know an asshat, after all.

Just 11 more days

"Fox and CNN blames Mass Effect originally pretty much as soon as the story broke."

Yeah... that was taken from the Facebook page of the brother of the gunman. Apparently it was shown on US TV when he was falsely identified as being the gunman and people that happen to share the same name have been receiving abuse on Facebook as well.

http://www.destructoid.com/mass-effect-and-more-attacked-over-school-shooting-240657.phtml

"They're just justifying their existence."

Bingo!

The sad thing is that if something as horrendous as this (the shootings) doesn't force them to address this issue then pretty much nothing would. The thing is though this issue is massive. It's not just as simple as the inanimate object of a gun. It's the psychology of an entire society down to the individuals who pick that gun up. It needs a real and mature conversation which I hope parts of their media are able to do. But from a country that's seen in the last 50 years their President assassinated, his brother, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Charles Whitman shootings, John Lennon, Tucson Shooting, Wisconsin Sikh Temple Shootings (that was this year btw), Beltway sniper attacks, and on and on it goes, I sadly don't think even the death of innocent children will make a lasting shift.

While I don't think video games are to blame I do think like films, tv and music they're representative of a society at the moment they were made. They are creations we reflect back at ourselves. But that's not to say they are entirely healthy entities. Like anything when it moves into obsession. That's not to say it creates the obsession, but like everything it has to accept its role. So while I don't think video games are solely to blame if a mature discussion has to happen then, like everything, it has to ask itself what part does it take.

This makes me angry for several reasons;
I'm a 29 y/o female Vegan. I can't even kill ants BUT I play the sickest most sadistic video games, listen to some seriously hate filled music and watch messed up movies on a daily basis. I don't feel the need to hurt or kill anyone. I also suffer from social anxiety and depression and still don't want to hurt anyone. Blaming games is a complete joke!

But if there were no guns they would just use knives and other weapons?

But try storming a school armed with a knife and see how far u get?!

The thing is yes, guns will always be part of the aMURICA way but assault rifles? Really? I served in the forces and not once did the range instructor say, oh btw, assault rifles are good hunting weapons aswel. There made for tactical insertions like FIBUA as there agile and have a good effective range and power for a 'small arms' weapon. Hunting rifles are different and are usually longer barrel and are made for static shots. These could argued for being legal as you would struggle to go on a running rampage considering the magazine size/ reload times between shots.

I just think it's the lack of attention to the mental state of individuals in society. They are allowed to wonder freely despite many a warning of their psychological short falls. That needs addressing and not whether a gun is single fire or semi-auto.

Video games are escapism for most mentally sound people, and not the tool of influence to kill loads of innocent people.

Like J.Thornhill says, if it isn't guns, it'll be axes, knives, swords, bow & arrows that the Psychotic will use with just as much death and devastation.

Hackerdude, i've done knife defence applications, some of it from the special forces, but we were told it's best not to take on anyone with a knife if you can help it. If someone has the psychological profile to use it with intent, without any scope for the consequences, then that person will be very dangerous with a bladed weapon. Knife defence applications just improved your chances of not being stabbed in close quarters combat/defence.

It was the same NRA saying that more guns would lead to less crime. No credibility tbh

I am just really frustrated by this, i really cannot say how upsetting this incident as been and the lack of any responsibility being taken for it by the NRA etc which is not really suprising.

Is it just me or do you guys not think incidents like this could be avoided but there is no will to change, this WILL happen again its only a matter of time and that is so disappointing.

To blame video games is just way way to easy to do, but you know what its going to happen because the image of the middle/upper american family is that games are violent and that image is ingrained for those families now and games are now the easy tartget.

Only when a couple of generations who have grown up and gamed as adults get into positions of power will this blame games attitude stop, at the moment its too easy to point the finger at games.

But with guns you can kill with detachment. There's a pretty big leap between pointing a gun and pulling a trigger to getting up close and using a knife/fists etc...

Ever thought about killing someone? If you were bullied at school you probably did. If you were pushed to the point of wanting to kill someone then a gun is an easy option. Using a knife is or your bare hands makes it considerably more real and you really can't be detached from your actions if you're going that way. This may not be relevant to this particular case, as the guy in question could've found other ways to do the job but if he didn't have the ridiculously easy option of a gun then it may not have happened at all.

As Hackerdude so rightly says "But try storming a school armed with a knife and see how far u get?!" And very few people would have the ability or training to have the same level of effect.

"but if he didn't have the ridiculously easy option of a gun then it may not have happened at all."

When a mentally disrupted person has the motivation for murderous intent, then they will use any means necessary. Granted, the semi-automatic firearm is more efficient but the knife/samurai sword etc are silent weapons, and against children is just as devastating in this scenario.

That person could take control of a classroom of children and teacher with a samurai sword for example, secure the room by locking doors and setting fire to the place. It's horrible, disgusting to think about but if the person in question has the psychopathic intent then they will still end up commiting sickening acts of violence.

I believe the root cause needs to be addressed and recognised, the mental state of a person that has the potential to perform these acts with no remorse and relentless abandon. Surely that's the drive behind the murder of these poor kids that needs to be recognised and acted upon, rather than passing the buck of blame to firearms and videogames.

I guess the issue is recognising the mental state of these sick people and knowing when to contain them from being a threat to society. I appreciate that may not be easy, but I would like to think that more focus should be put on this than any other avenue of blame.

I'm pretty sure Samurai swords are illegal here too though. No one should be allowed to own a piece of equipment who's sole creation purpose was to kill other humans.

If he had a kitchen knife I doubt it would've got as far (or been as lethal). A few people could have got him to the ground easily (he wasn't the biggest guy around). You can't avoid that most gun crime in the States is from perfectly sane people trying to kill one another which is another thing that needs to be stopped.

I think like Lee rightly says there's been no will up to this point (hopefully it will change now) in America to try and do something about this. That in itself has to be symbolic of something. For such a young country the gun is still at the heart of their self identity. It's the instrument that carved out their union. It's such a strong part of its mythology. A continuously regenerated mythology repeated again and again, projected in films, music and television. Lee is right, the will has to be there. And that's another crux, because I'd image the NRA (as a multimillion dollar organisation) are pretty powerful lobbyists. And lets not forget about the business of Guns that would also join forces. But who has a similar weight behind them? This is in a country where the Koch brothers can dismantle the power of a trade Union in a state that was left with nothing left to oppose them.
The will has to come from the people and it has to come en-mass.

I think GF is kind of right. The problem is often its not apparent that somebody's eventual ending point would be shooting children. He's quiet, shy, keeps himself to himself. He wears dark cloths and likes "aggressive" and "dark" music. He likes guns and talks about them a lot. He likes violent films. I mean I think the parents of most of my mates growing up would be sending their kids to evaluations. There's no test that I'm aware of that ticks the "yes he's going to go on a killing spree" box. And that's while they're still in school and teachers can keep an eye out for their pupils. Once they're out, then what? Parents who could well be either unable to deal with the situation or maybe/often even be a fundamental cause of the problem. And of course some killers maintain themselves very well. Charles Whitman was a model citizen. So recognising them as a threat is problematic, and we'd probably see more fear lain at the door of music, films and video-games by parents. And even greater alienation by the "normal" kids, the "cool" kids.

After reading the last few posts I wondered about the cathartic nature of the act of firing a gun. It's a powerful thing, its loud, it projects the will and force of the user. It's caught up in the mythology of itself. The way in films the hero shoots the bad guy and there's the release of tension, the euphoria that good has triumphed over evil. And so it is an empowering thing, I would say more so psychologically speaking, than maybe a knife.

Also, as a country that is watching on, while we would have complete sympathy for the victims, at what point in the future if nothing changes and something else happens do we say "Well it's not like it hasn't happened before" to their country in general? How do we remain sympathetic towards a country that repeats the same mistakes.

I am disgusted by any child killings let alone mass killings , this incident moved me to tears and I'm not generally like that.Assault rifles,semi automatic shotguns and powerful automatic handguns belong in an armory - under lock and key, there is no justification for civilians to own them.Sporting guns need tighter regulation.
In response to other posts about sharp weapons ,of course these have been used to commit atrocities however it is arguable that you could take down a rampaging knife nut much quicker than a gunman therefore minimizing the number of victims.Psychopaths are not looked after properly even in this country where healthcare is free to all ,let alone in the land of the free where healthcare is only available to those who can afford it.
For the media to relate sick violent acts to video gaming is simply the usual pathetic cliche.
Rest in peace little ones.
My name is Chris, and I had to say something.

It's not impossible that games could prove to be a factor here, but then again there is no evidence they are.....
(if a propper investigation proves the shooter was a deeply involved gamer, obsessed with CoD or similar we have to be prapared to consider it)

At the moment the major factor appears to be readily available guns & amunition, not what the NRA wants to see blamed

I'd also suggest that media reportings of Mass Shootings in the states (and elsewhere) mean that 'copycat' incidents are much more likely to occur. A disturbed, hate filled individual CAN get ideas from reported incidents, just in the same way terrorist incidents can spark people to try and stage their own incident for a cause.