Politician Asks Game Makers to End Real-Life Gun Licensing

[SilverLion]

As an aspiring game designer, I can support this, because I do not have the 15 million dollars to call my obviously a Remington sniper rifle a "Remington sniper rifle" without fear of having my dick sued off. Gun makers earn lots of money as it is with the U.S being so gun-totingly jingoistic, and they don't need to earn more by wringing out my pockets so I can make any basic shooter game set inbetween the year's 1990 and 2030.
I don't know if game dev's are forced to acquire the rights to use guns of a specific make in game but if they do, then I wholeheartedly agree with the speaker of Connecticut House.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

All of that because no American politician in his or her right mind would think to go up against the NRA's big guns (pun intended). The closest thing they can come up with involves pussyfooting around the issue.

"Guns are bad but we can't ask the gun manufacturers to abide by a stricter set of laws for fear of losing money and voters; so let's just gently nudge the publicly accepted "culprit" of the generation. Maybe if shooters don't refer to real pew-pews anymore, there's a sliver of an outside chance it's going to convince the actual gun nuts of exercising more caution in their use and purchase of firearms. Just maybe."

That's such a shame. If the NRA weren't so influential this debate would be a non-issue. Gun culture will always have its advocates, and the harshest bummer in all of this is that in some cases, I can almost agree with them. If you live in a tough neighbourhood and can't afford to move out and have tangible proof that you might be targeted, then yeah. Maybe owning a pistol makes sense.

I'm just a dude from Quebec, though, and my neighbourhood is so freaking sleepy the houses snore. We sometimes leave the doors unlocked at night and haven't had to deal with anything more worrying than Mister Conspicuous Ferrarri in SUV and Soccer Mom Town - and his not-so-secret pot farm.

 

[Arkaijn]

the real-life Bushmaster, a "versatile and useful gun" with flash suppressor and 30-round magazine, is still available at your local Walmart........ 'Murica

 

[Jamieson 90]

God I can't wait until the 2030's when our generation is old enough to be the new politicians, maybe then we'll actually get some serious talk about games and the effects they have on people if any, although by then we'll probably be decrying those "Bloody kids and their hover boards!"

 

[Quantum Glass]

Honestly, the fact that this guy is asking for our help in screwing gun manufacturers over--even if the royalties they get are just a small amount of their profits--makes me happy.

 

[TotalerKrieger]

What an incredibly stupid idea...where are these politicians drawing their conclusions from? Sharkey even admits that research contradicts his opinion...so why bother creating some frivolous restriction on the video game medium (no mention of movies, television or literature)? Oh right, because some worthless symbolic gesture designed to appease the paranoid anti-gun/anti-videogame crowd is far easier than doing something useful like trying to fix the failing mental health system.

 

[tangoprime]

So a representative in the state of Connecticut is calling for an end to gun licensing in video games, specifically citing the Sandy Hook shooting being done with a Bushmaster and mentioning CoD. Bushmaster rifles have never been featured in CoD. Not even the ACR, whose military variant is produced by Remington, not Bushmaster. Colt rifles are though. Colt Mfg. is one of the largest gunmakers in the world, supplying the main arms of the United States Military and others. It's located in Hartford, Connecticut. I think you have a closer, more logical address for your letter, Representative.

 

[WindKnight]

its a retarded egg chicken question for this politician.

did the kid shoot up other kids with a bushmaster because it was in call of duty or because it is one of the most recommended and sold assault rifle in america.(the answer is the last part)

There have been cases where gamers have rushed out to buy their favorite gun from a game. When MW2 came out, a lot of people went down to their local gunshops wanting an ACR (not to mention the guy who wanted a scoped rifle, and asked which button he pressed to make the scope zoom in so he could 'headshot some noobs like in halo.')

Don;t get me wrong, if someone offered me a FAMAS replica (emphasis on REPLICA) to hang on my wall I'd be all too happy to accept.

EDIT:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97789-Gun-Enthusiasts-Complain-About-the-Call-of-Duty-Effect

an article on the above on this very site about three years ago.

 

[Wicky_42]

"I write to you today to request your cooperation in ending the nefarious relationship between video game makers and gun makers," he concluded. "Our communities, our country and our children are counting on your leadership on this important issue."

really? Nefarious?

pictured, video game developers and gun makers:

Spoiler

To wrap up, I commend what they're rallying for, but first take care of the real world problems before the fictional.

Hahaha, that was my first reaction too! I mean, of all the adjectives to use, 'nefarious' was the one he chose to describe a licencing agreement? Pretty sure of the scale of nefariosity, such agreements rank pretty low...

 

[gigastar]

So does this mean we can get more stuff like this?

 

[AuronFtw]

From the Speaker's page:

A report published in June by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and The Gun Truth Project detailed how deals between video game companies and weapons manufacturers often lead to promotional campaigns enticing players to purchase weapons featured in the games they have just played.

I'm not sure how "often" it actually happens; I'm only aware of the deal EA signed with McMillan and Magpul that it canned last year. But that's obviously the nail the Speaker has chosen to hammer.

Nobody should ever listen to the crazy bitches in Moms Demand Action; they've been quoting completely false "facts" in huge walls of bullshit on their facebook page and website for ages now. They ban anyone who asks for references or sources for any of their data for not "contributing to their community," and foster no discussion on the topic. They're scared of honest discourse and are only interested in the logical fallacy known as argumentum ad passiones (appeal to emotion) in order to get people in position to knee-jerk react any time anyone gets shot anywhere over anything.

They have nobody's best interest at heart, least of all their country's. They're self-serving and really quite insane. The fact that any senator would listen to anything they say is worrying at best.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I'm not particularly convinced this solves any problem whatsoever. There are dozens of vendors for the AR-15 for example and they tend to generally all look more or less the same in any given class. Likewise there are only a handful of ways one can illustrate an automatic pistol or revolver. Ensuring there isn't a real world counterpart does virtually nothing as the weapon will still end up looking more or less like a firearm already on the market.

Of course, aside from the AR series, the vast majority of weapons that show up in video games are only loosly available to the public. One can purchase the P-90 but unless one has a (very expensive) permit, they can only purchase the P-90c which only features a semi-automatic mode. This tends to be true for any exotic weapon you can point to and such weapons tend to be staggeringly expensive if available at all. Many European and Asian weapons are only available in the US through odd loopholes in the import laws for example ensuring that actually getting such a weapon that functions well can be both difficult (in terms of simply locating an example) and expensive. Other weapons simply aren't available - the French FAMAS for example.

 

[Psychobabble]

I don't know. Since quite a few people here seem to be in support of the idea that games can cause things like sexism and death threats in real life, maybe this guy has a point. I really think that if games can cause other kinds of bad social behavior then a much closer look at a possible link between video game and real world violence is needed. And this just might be the first step on the road to doing that.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I would like to be bothered to say some intelligent sentences on this matter...but i shall digress to a tired sigh and 'same ole bullshit'
I cant believe any person could hold such misguided priorities, unless their mother was gang raped by all of the call of duties on christmas morning. When will they wise up?

 

[Captain Anon]

Sharkey nonetheless made a point of noting that Sandy Hook mass murderer Adam Lanza was an "active" Call of Duty player and that the Bushmaster rifle he used appears in the game.

really? really?! we gonna bring Sandy Hook and Adam Lanza in this? ok then tell me did COD have any connection to Sandy Hook killings, NO! you're just making bullshit as you go but then you always have, Adam Lanza killed 20 children and 8 school teachers last year, why?! because he thought the world was going to burn in December but it didn't and Adam was like any young adult that played video games like me and then That fucking Mayan Calendar said the world was going to end and everyone went crazy including Adam, he picked up the first gun he saw and went killed some people and you a Politician is using this to just ban shit for shits and giggles and it pisses me off!! end of rant I'm done

 

[Scentedwiind]

At least he sent a letter asking them to "please do this, it might help?" instead of shouting about it up on a podium.

I agree. Though public pressure can really solve a problem, if one indeed exists, much faster than a letter. I think the fact we've heard means they have struck a balance which invites conversation while eliminating open bile.

 

[Scentedwiind]

Sharkey nonetheless made a point of noting that Sandy Hook mass murderer Adam Lanza was an "active" Call of Duty player and that the Bushmaster rifle he used appears in the game.

really? really?! we gonna bring Sandy Hook and Adam Lanza in this? ok then tell me did COD have any connection to Sandy Hook killings, NO! you're just making bullshit as you go but then you always have, Adam Lanza killed 20 children and 8 school teachers last year, why?! because he thought the world was going to burn in December but it didn't and Adam was like any young adult that played video games like me and then That fucking Mayan Calendar said the world was going to end and everyone went crazy including Adam, he picked up the first gun he saw and went killed some people and you a Politician is using this to just ban shit for shits and giggles and it pisses me off!! end of rant I'm done

Calm down. Relax, we are all friends here. Now I'm sure he has a reason for bringing the issue here into the conversation. It needs to be discussed before dismissed and I feel perhaps that your zeal is equal to the opponents.

 

[Vykrel]

it would accomplish nothing, and gun licensing in games causes no real world violence, just like guns being in games in the first place causes no real world violence.

besides, it adds to the realism of the games. you dont see the dude sending letters to movie studios asking them to do the same thing.

 

[Xdeser2]

Ummm, I know I'm in the minority here, but yeah I kinda agree with this

....kinda. I dont agree with the idea that recognizing guns from games makes you want to murder people horribly (though, Yes, I do know people that freak out a bit going like "OMG I used teh gun so much in Battlefield!") however, I personally dont like filling the coffers of Berret, H&K, etc. when I play a game.

I dont mind guns, and I dont mind other people who have guns, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth that a portion of my purchase price, or a sizable portion of the development cost of that game might very well go to a company that does businesses in death.

It's just my opinion though, I can totally understand why others might disagree.

 

[Dragonbums]

If he wants the gaming industry to stop using licenses, then he is asking the wrong side of the party.

The only reason why videogames have to get licenses is because the military and weapon manufacturing companies require it from them. If not, then they will get into a legal battle with them.

Of course the United States won't DARE oppose the guns industry on any of their flaws, and would rather blame parties that are more or less a symptom than a cause of the guns industries incompetence.