CT Senator: Games a Factor in Sandy Hook Shootings

[Dr. Octogonopus]

Also research has shown that the term 'gun violence' only came into being after the release of the Nintendo64

 

[erbkaiser]

To be fair, this guy seems to be one of the few US politicians that is not a rabid gun nut member of the NRA. He actually tried to block the NRA from sponsoring Hillbilly racing... errr NASCAR.

But unfortunately he's still stupid enough to jump on the "games are bad oh my god" bandwagon.

In this day and time and in the free world, anyone aged 0-30 /not/ playing video games is becoming more and more a strange loner.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Guns cause gun violence you know. But standing up to gun lobbies is a stupid idea isn't it senator?

 

[Dark Knifer]

If you have proof go for it. Otherwise let's just go with the kid was fucking insane. By all means, look into the cause of these events but still, for the amount of people that have claimed this there is a disturbing lack of proof.

 

[bandit0802]

Games don't cause violence; guns don't cause violence. What causes violence is a lack of respect for human life. We've been killing each other violently long before these things were even invented.

 

[bandit0802]

And then there's this:

http://cdn.escapistmagazine.com/media/global/images/galleries/display/66/66220.jpg

 

[RJ 17]

"What we know is that this young man, deeply mentally ill..."

Noooooo shit. In the words of Chris Rock: "Why can't they just be crazy?" People of all ages have been doing absolutely horrendous atrocities for a very, very long time...long before violent games have been around. There's no need to find excuses for them, no need to try and find what pushed them over the edge. The answer's already there: THEY'RE FUCKING CRAZY! Since we're blaming violent games, we better blame violent music too. And the movies, I'd imagine the violence in movie and television played a part too!

Lanza also probably saw violence out on the streets, or heard about it in the news. We better ban all violence in news programs too. In fact, the only way we can prevent these kinds of tragedies is to just go ahead and ban violence in general!

Why is it so hard to understand that crazy people are fucking crazy? That they don't need a source of inspiration before they do crazy things? By all account, Lanza was an absolute fucking psycho. If you've ever seen a picture of the guy, you only need on look at him to say "That guy looks like he's fucking nuts!" His mother had to warn babysitters to never turn their back on him because there's no telling what he could do, he was a dangerous person in general. It wasn't the games, music, or movies that turned him into a dangerous individual, it was the fact that he was completely fucked up in the head. He was a crazy person. We've seen countless crazy people in the past, we're bound to see countless more in the future.

It all boils down to votes. Something terrible happens and the public demands that lawmakers do something. And since you can't ban "being crazy", you need a strawman to burn in order to make it look like you care and that you're trying to prevent such things from happening in the future. Truth is you're never going to be able to prevent such tragedies from occurring, but the general public can't accept that as an answer, and no amount of common sense back by scientific research (as yet another study just came out saying NO FUCKING LINK BETWEEN VIOLENCE IN GAMES AND VIOLENCE IN REALITY) will convince them otherwise. But no, despite the numerous studies already done on the matter - the vast majority of which say "no link exists" - we still need to study it more.

It's quite simple, really, if you can't tell the difference between a game and reality, thus making you want to "act out" the game IN reality, you're already fucked. You're nuts. The game didn't make you nuts, it's just further proof that you ARE nuts.

 

[RJ 17]

Guns cause gun violence you know. But standing up to gun lobbies is a stupid idea isn't it senator?

Actually they don't, no more than a hammer causes a house to be built.

 

[sethisjimmy]

"Video Games are a factor in the Sandy Hook shooting"
"I have no evidence of this, and I admit that, but they still are"

Cool.

 

[RJ 17]

Guns cause gun violence you know. But standing up to gun lobbies is a stupid idea isn't it senator?

Actually they don't, no more than a hammer causes a house to be built.

At the risk of turning this thread into a banhammer pavilion:

Without the hammer, the carpenter isn't very likely to build a house, is he?

Indeed that is true, but did the hammer make the carpenter build the house? Or is it one of the tools that the carpenter uses to build the house? Do guns make people commit acts of violence? Or are they just one of the tools that people can use to cause violence?

Games don't cause violence; guns don't cause violence. What causes violence is a lack of respect for human life. We've been killing each other violently long before these things were even invented.

Bandit has it completely right, "What causes violence is a lack of respect for human life."

Granted, guns allow you to take a more lives in a lot shorter amount of time than, say, going on a stabbing-spree, but the gun is not to blame for the actions of the person.

 

[Saltyk]

I bet he also drank milk when he was young. Maybe even to this day...

My God! It's the cows! They cause violence. We need to ban cows. It's the only way!

Also, didn't the Virgina Tech killer not play games and was considered an outside because of that fact?

Guns cause gun violence you know. But standing up to gun lobbies is a stupid idea isn't it senator?

Actually they don't, no more than a hammer causes a house to be built.

At the risk of turning this thread into a banhammer pavilion:

Without the hammer, the carpenter isn't very likely to build a house, is he?

The carpenter may not be able to build a house without a hammer, but a murderer can still kill without a gun. The classic example of a serial killer doesn't often use guns. More likely they use knifes or something else. Even a hammer could be used to kill people. And the worst mass killings used bombs. There's a reason they are suicide bombers, not suicide shooters.

Also, guns have other legitimate uses. Like hunting, target practice, or self defense. And yes, there are many legitimate cases of self defense with guns every year. If you wanted to really talk about the primary way guns are used to kill, it's suicide. Nearly two thirds of all gun fatalities are suicides. And it could be higher than that since the victims families have every reason to deny that it was a suicide.

To be honest, mass murder by gun is no more than a statistical anomaly. It barely registers in the data. Now, if you wanted to discuss banning guns as a means to prevent suicide, you would have a strong argument.

It should also be noted that these killings tend to happen in gun free zones. Literally, the only places a person can be guaranteed that no one else will have a gun.

It's a complex issue. Simply pointing out the tool, and saying that is the problem is not the answer and is incredibly short sighted.

 

[Micah Weil]

*sigh* No, senator, violent video games did NOT cause the Sandy Hook shooting. Untreated/poorly treated mental illness caused the Sandy Hook shooting.
Violent Video Games didn't cause VTech. Untreated/poorly treated mental illness caused that one too.
Violent Video Games didn't cause your being elected. Untreated/poorly treated mental illness caused that as well. (okay, I admit it, low blow...just getting tired of hearing this)

The only reason you're going after violent video games is because you're pandering to the white-bred, middle class parental complex - mothers, specifically. You know, the ones who are too bothered to raise their children themselves, refused to do any research into whatever the hell the screaming little crotchlings tell them to buy just to shut them up, and get hyper offended when they find out their own goddamn stupidity/laziness has resulted in their precious little goddamn snowflakes have gotten their hands on a bit of the ultraviolence!

*huff, huff, huff*

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

If someone is insane, there's no telling what could tip them over the edge. We'd have to ban everything, and that's impossible. So why don't we at least try to do something that we know could work? Gun control and better mental healthcare.

 

[Smeatza]

Now, nobody can sit here for certain and say that without any one of those things, without the powerful weapons, without the mental illness, without the exposure to video games, this wouldn't have happened.

Seriously?
I mean, seriously?
The shooting....still would have happened...without guns?
People who aren't at least temporarily mentally ill, commit such pointless, destructive crimes?

 

[Canadamus Prime]

At least this guys willing to admit there could be other factors involved. That's a start.

 

[Something Amyss]

Aside from that dickhead cop who thinks the only place you learn to "tactical reload" is from video games, do we have confirmation on this guy's gaming habits?

I suspect he also ate food, drank liquids, slept in a bed and wore clothes.

Pants, I bet. It happened at Columbine, it happened in Aurora, even the Unibomber wore pants.

*shakes fist*

PANTS! My archnemesis. When will you people learn?

But yes, there are far more ubiquitous commonalities. And more relevant ones; access to firearms, mental illness, pants....

"Now, nobody can sit here for certain and say that without any one of those things, without the powerful weapons..."
Is this guy fucking high?

Well, he WAS using a BFG 9000.

To be fair, this guy seems to be one of the few US politicians that is not a rabid gun nut member of the NRA. He actually tried to block the NRA from sponsoring Hillbilly racing... errr NASCAR.

But unfortunately he's still stupid enough to jump on the "games are bad oh my god" bandwagon.

To be fair, asking politicians not to be stupid is like asking your dog to use a condom when it has sex.

That's a heartless thing to say!

They don't want to ban ALL schools!

Just the ones for middle class and lower class students.

And any that teach liberal propaganda like math, science, and history....

There's a reason they are suicide bombers, not suicide shooters.

the problem is that in America the worst examples may involve terrorism, but they're a tiny fraction of deaths in the country. Guns are a sizable one. Hell, gun deaths due to kids outweigh deaths to terrorism in this country. The histrionics about explosives are kind of negated by the reality of bombs vs firearms.

 

[Something Amyss]

Seriously?
I mean, seriously?
The shooting....still would have happened...without guns?
People who aren't at least temporarily mentally ill, commit such pointless, destructive crimes?

well, guns don't shoot people...People shoot people. So obviously the gun is superfluous.

 

[VonKlaw]

Man, American politicians must be pretty determined to blame everything but easy access to high power weaponry for all the shooting sprees you keep getting. Can't help but wonder why...

 

[spoonybard.hahs]

My therapist wife does admit that some things can "trigger" a person with mental illness to act out violently. Books, films, television, video games, the news, the voices, paranoia, or even interacting with other people. The thing about mental illness is that the a particular illness will not affect people the same way. Some of these mass shooters weren't diagnosed. Some were diagnosed, but not receiving the care they needed. Or they potentially misdiagnosed. Never brought up by these politicians is the level of care or access these people had. It's instantly, "They were sick in the head of course video games caused them to do it!" Not, "These people needed help and never got it, or got it poorly. Let's fix that."

 

[RonHiler]

I just don't understand why we keep electing Morons into the house and senate. Surely there are intelligent people in the country who would be willing to help run the place, you know, for the good of the country. Instead we get a constant stream of dipshits who completely ignore science and spout whatever bullshit pops into their heads. What the hell? Good god, I am sick of it.

Maybe we ought to enact a "minimum IQ" requirement to be allowed to serve in the senate/house. Sort of the same deal as now with the age requirement. "You must be at least THIS smart to ride this ride" kind of deal. Who's with me?