Republicans Blame Video Games, Not Guns, For Gun Violence

By Annie-Rose Strasser/Think Progress

Republicans are more likely to place the blame for gun violence on video games, not guns, according to a recent poll from Public Policy Polling. Sixty seven percent of Republicans believe that such games are a “bigger safety threat” than firearms — only 14 percent think the reverse.

The only problem? There’s no data to support that position. There is evidence that limiting access to guns can help limit violence wrought by those machines. In particular, there’s evidence to show that the Assault Weapons Ban helped to limit gun violence on the Mexican-American border. And in states where gun ownership is high and gun laws are lax, violence rates are higher.

On the other hand, there’s absolutely no conclusive evidence showing that video games are the root cause of violence. There are countries with much lower rates of violence that havemuch higher consumption of video games.

Sen. Alexander: Video games a bigger problem than guns

By Eric W. Dolan/Raw Story

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said Wednesday that violent video games were a bigger problem than guns in the United States.

When asked on MSNBC about proposals to reduce gun violence, such as requiring universal background checks, Alexander indicated that he was skeptical of the legislation.

“I’m going to wait and see on all of these bills,” he said. “I think video games is a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people. But the First Amendment limits what we can do about video games,  and the Second Amendment to the Constitution limits what we can do about guns.”

National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre has also blamed violent video games — along with music and movies — for the gun violence in the United States.

“There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people, through vicious, violent video games with names like ‘Bulletstorm,’ ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ ‘Mortal Kombat,’ and ‘Splatterhouse,’” LaPierre said after the tragic Newtown school shooting in December.

Watch video, courtesy of MSNBC, below:

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