As we all know, recently, there were two mass shootings last in late July to early August in 2019. As to the cause of these shootings, motives are somewhat scarce, but the conversation always seems to go to, "video games cause shootings." There may be some reason to believe that these violent images may indeed lead to violent actions, but records show no evidence of this being the truth. Instead, should the conversation not go to gun control, or safety precautions? Even President Trump sites video games as the cause of both shootings in Dayton and El Paso (Timm).The APA states that,
"Large analyses of violent crime and video violent game use find no evidence that increased sales of violent video games leads to a spike in violent crimes. Researchers make the case that if violent games directly led to violent behavior, the data would show increases in violent crime on a large-scale as more people played violent games. In fact, there is some evidence that as more youth play video games, rates of youth violence have decreased."
So, what's the correct answer? Well, in two simple words, gun control. Why should the practice of free speech in video games be squelched, just for a scape goat because the government doesn't want to admit that the U.S. may have a gun control issue? Video games may cause "a few" people to act out on what they see, but it isn't the main cause. Many shooters often site radical manifestos as their primary cause for shootings, such as the El Paso Shooter (Arango).
As it turns out, the shooter gave his Explicit reasoning behind his shooting, yet the government turns their heads and wonders what could cause people to do these evil acts? It seems to be a lack of either knowledge on the government's behalf, or they are choosing not to take reasonings behind the explicit messages by the shooters themselves.
Banning video games is not the solution to the epidemic America currently faces, but rather it is stricter gun laws in themselves. banning guns outright is not the solution either, because then, regular citizens cannot protect themselves against those with automatic weapons, and death tolls will skyrocket.
The only way to stop the shootings is to prevent them, and banning video games isn't the way to do it.
Trump Sites Video Games for Mass Shootings Video
