This unit addresses the issues of gun violence and gun control. Your student representatives chose this topic for this year's Youth Summit because of the prevalence of gun violence in the lives of many Illinois youth. The focus of this unit is to provide you with information on some current legislation and issues dealing with gun control and violence. You will consider proposed legislation on trigger locks, and the issue of violence in gun manufacturers' video games. You will hear voices on both sides of these issues and then be given tools to analyze their arguments and the issues.
Should legislation be passed that would require trigger-locks on all guns kept
in houses that are shared with children?
Should Congress pass a law which would prohibit anyone under 16 from purchasing
realistic gun manufacturers' video games which teach how to load and shoot high
caliber guns with the goal of killing as many people as possible?
Discussing Proposed Trigger-Lock Legislation
Have students sit in two groups, one for each side of the question, facing each
other across the center of the room. A third group of students sits in the
"neutral zone" at one end of the center area so that they can see both sides
[e.g., the bottom of a "U" formation]. Students can choose or be appointed to
each position.
Pass out 2C, "Proposed Trigger-Lock Legislation: Pros, Cons, and Questions."
Have students in each advocacy group prepare what they believe are the best
arguments. Have students in the neutral zone prepare the questions that they
need to address in order to come to a conclusion about their position. [This
step can be assigned as homework the night before.]
Pass out 2B, "Philosophical Chairs." Make sure everyone reads it before the
start of the exercise. The teacher can call time-out periodically to clarify,
reflect on the process or content, or refocus.
At the conclusion of the exercise, one student from each team will provide a
summary of the viewpoints presented during the discussion by his/her team. A
student in the neutral zone must take notes on both sides of the argument, and
if his/her position changes, he/she must explain why he/she came to a new
conclusion.
Developed by: Dale Fountain, Mount Tahoma High School, Tacoma, Washington.
Proposed Trigger-Lock Legislation: Pros, Cons and Questions
Proposed Legislation
Trigger-locks should be required on guns in houses shared by children.
Pros:
Cons:
Questions:
Mock Legislative Hearing: Violent Video Games
Proposed Policy
Congress shall enact a law that prohibits anyone under 16 from buying video games that teach the player how to use, load or shoot guns.
Activity
Divide into groups of three to five students. One group should take the role of Senator "Smith" and his/her staff members. The other groups should represent people in Senator Smith's state, including: The National Rifle Association, Gun Dealers, Video Game Player's Association, Police, and Mothers Against Handguns. Ask each group to prepare their position using the following resources:
The gun industry has struggled with stagnant or shrinking sales for several years due to the saturation of its primary market of white males. According to the General Social Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, the percentage of gun-owning homes dropped nearly 20 percent from 1977 to 1996. An advertisement for New England Firearms summed up the challenge facing the industry, "In effect, [the] greatest threat we face is the lack of a future customer base for the products which we all sell." To meet this challenge the gun industry-working hand-in-hand with the National Rifle Association (NRA) -has targeted children as vital to the future of the gun culture in America, both as future customers and as political foot soldiers for the gun-control battles that lie ahead. The latest assault in the gun industry battle for the hearts and minds of America's youth is the use of video games that put virtual guns in the hands of potential customers. Designed and marketed as children's toys and sold freely through channels such as eToys.com and Amazon.com, they are the newest marketing tools for attracting children to the gun industry. In fact, one game-Remington Upland Game Hunter - features an "On-line Catalog" of selected Remington firearms. Scott Farrell, editor of Guns Magazine, outlined the thinking behind such video games, "What we need is a computer game which combines the use of a real handgun.. with state-of-the-art graphics and an exciting story... .A game like that would be an extremely effective vehicle to introduce safe recreational shooting to the video-game generation." Or, as the NRA urges on the cover of InSights, its youth magazine for members age 17 and under, "Get into shooting cyber style." The gun industry's addition of video games to its youth marketing strategy is hardly surprising given the explosive growth in video game sales and the attractive demographic profile of video game players- 39 percent are under the age of 18 and 43 percent are women. In fact, the video game industry is the fastest growing segment of the U.S. entertainment industry. Retail sales of computer and video games have grown from $3.2 billion in 1995 to $6.1 billion in 1999. According to a survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 60 percent of all Americans over the age of five-or 145 million people-play computer or video games.
Using video games offers several advantages over other youth marketing strategies employed by the gun industry. Through video games the gun industry is able to appeal to a larger and demographically more diverse audience-there are 145 million video game players versus 44 million gun owners, 43 percent of video game players are female versus nine percent of gun owners, and the average age of a video game player is 28 while the majority of gun owners are age 40 or older. As a result, the gun industry is able to put "virtual" versions of their deadly products into the hands of children who are not legally eligible to purchase firearms and would be unreachable by more traditional means of marketing. Despite the fact that children can't purchase guns from dealers, in many cases they can legally possess them. A 1998 poll conducted by The New York Times and CBS News found that 15 percent of American youths owned their own gun.10 Renowned gun writer Grits Gresham summed up the situation in a 1993 column in the gun industry publication SHOT Business," Kids can't buy guns, you say? Well, yes and no. It's true that most students from kindergarten through high school can't purchase firearms on their own. But it's also true that in many parts of the country, youngsters (from preteens on up) are shooting and hunting. Pop picks up the tab."
Video games featuring shooting have been played for as long as video games have existed. Typically, these games featured traditional hunting rifles or shotguns. Recently, as gun companies have lent their brand names to video games, the products featured have become decidedly more lethal. Shooting games now include fully automatic machine guns, assault weapons, and all types of handguns-from "pocket rockets" and "junk guns" to large-frame 50 caliber pistols. The industry sees these games as a means to introduce children to guns and the shooting sports, as well as an opportunity to engender brand loyalty.
As the guns have changed, so have the targets. Where once were stationary targets or perhaps a flock of ducks, now stand human targets or, as Remington Top Shot euphemistically phrases it, "interactive targets." Colt's Wild West Shootout instructs the player that "you're the law and you carry the firepower to back it up!," while Soldier of Fortune offers the more direct, "Meet interesting, exotic people from all over the globe, and dispatch them."
Recent school shootings and disturbing levels of youth firearms use have focused attention on the problem of youth gun violence. Clearly, there is a spectrum of factors involved, ranging from the remote to the proximate. In other words, some factors may only arguably contribute to the problem, but other factors most certainly do. For example, some might argue that such cartoon violence as that seen in a typical "Road Runner" scene contributes at some level, however remote, to a desensitization of youth to the nature, meaning, and real-life consequences of violence. On the other hand, it is clear beyond doubt that real guns in the hands of troubled young people have been the immediate cause of countless tragedies, from lonely suicides to mass public shootings…. The games reviewed in this study lie at the more proximate end of the scale of factors for two reasons: they put surrogate firearms into the hands of children, thus closely approximating the real experience of shooting to kill. And they are intended to lure children into possessing real firearms. These should be of at least as much interest to parents, Congress, and others concerned about youth violence as the putative effects of music and motion picture images.
The gun industry has launched a campaign to attract children to the gun culture on several fronts:
Source: Violence Policy Center, December 2000
New Law Restricts Violent Video Games in Indianapolis
July 18, 2000, Indianapolis --- Coin-operated video games in which people are
decapitated, dismembered, mutilated or maimed will soon be off-limits to
children in Indianapolis.
Mayor Bart Peterson signed a violent video game law Monday, saying it was an
opportunity for the city to put its foot down on what he called a burgeoning
culture of violence.
The law requires coin-operated games featuring graphic violence or strong
sexual content to have warning labels and be kept at least 10 feet from
nonviolent game machines. They must also be separated by a curtain or wall so
minors cannot view them. The law bars people under age 18 from such games
unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Peterson called the law -- believed to be the first of its kind in a major U.S.
city -- a necessary first step. "The importance of it is that it's an effort
to begin to attack the culture of violence that I believe surrounds our young
people these days virtually from the day they're born," the mayor said.
The law takes effect September 1. Businesses can be fined $200 a day for each
violation. A business with three violations in one year could be forbidden from
offering violent games or have its amusement license revoked.
Elliott Portnoy, an attorney representing national video game industry groups,
said his clients are considering legal action against the city. "From the
beginning the industry has believed that this ordinance is both unnecessary and
unconstitutional," Portnoy said from his Washington office.
But the mayor said he believes the city has the power to enforce the law, just
as it regulates arcades and other businesses that offer coin-operated games.
"Without a city permit you cannot display, and make available for use, a video
game," he said. "So that gives us the authority to say that if you're going to
display them, you've got to display them a certain way."
A Purdue University professor believes there is little, if any, correlation
between violent games and aggression in young people. "(The law's) not going
to do any good," said John Sherry, an assistant professor of communication.
One of those who will be most affected by the law wasn't looking forward to it.
"I think it's an OK idea, but I like playing some of the violent games, so I
guess it kind of hurts me," said Stephen Prunier, 13.
Source: Associated Press
Consumers Say Violent Video and Computer Games Do Not Cause Violent Behavior
May 24, 1999, Reston, Va. --- Fifty-seven percent of consumers disagree with
the concept that playing violent video and computer games is likely to make
people become violent, according to the latest online survey of public opinion
conducted by independent research firm, PC Data.
Tracking of weekly sales of violent video and computer games has remained
steady over April and May, confirming that consumers continue to buy violent
games. "In the wake of last month's tragedy in Littleton, Colorado, many
fingers have pointed to violence in computer and video games as being the cause
for such irrational behavior," said Ann Stephens, president of PC Data.
"However, our survey and retail tracking not only show that consumers believe
TV violence is more of a threat, but that that there has also been no
corresponding reaction by the market against the purchase of popular action
games."
In the three weeks following the Littleton incident, 6% of total PC and video
games purchased had violent content. The numbers were identical in the three
weeks prior to the incident.
Violence in TV, Movies and Lyrics a Major Influence on Behavior
The survey found consumers believe that violence portrayed on television, in movies and in songs is seen to have a significant negative influence on behavior.
Asked to rate the effect that violence may have on behavior, 59% of respondents agreed that violence portrayed on TV and movies has a negative impact on how people behave, while only 43% believe that if people play violent computer and video games they are likely to become violent. However, the majority of respondents agreed that violent lyrics (58%) also negatively impacted how people behave.
Parents and Government to Take Greater Responsibility
While only 31% of all respondents said parents should prohibit children from playing violent computer and video games altogether, 52% said parents should limit the amount of time a child spends playing a violent game. Forty-six percent agreed with a suggestion that content rating levels be made mandatory by the government.
Source: PC Data Online
Guns: Suggested Service Projects