Letters to the editor for Saturday, March 10, 2018

Video games a factor in gun violence

I am very sorry for the family, friends and students that have endured a very tragic event no one should ever have to experience.

Our administration and lawmakers are wrestling with the issue of violence in our schools, No. 1, and in our society in general. The easy and consistent answer is to regulate the tools being used, in this case assault rifles. I contend that the tools of violence, regardless of type, are not the cause.

I submit that our children are being taught to be violent through violent motion pictures and video games, games that reward the player with ever more powerful weapons as they destroy more opponents.

I believe such simulation is being used by our armed forces to train our military in combat tactics. Similar simulators are available to law enforcement for tactical training. Modified versions are available to citizens to aid in self-defense training. These have remarkable similarity to the games our children can play for hours on their home computers or game consoles.

Consider how our freedom of expression is limited if someone yells “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Well, I believe it’s about time we put the same limitation on video games that shout “more violence!” to our children. If we don’t allow people under 21 to own assault rifles, maybe we should also not allow them to be trained on how to use them to create mayhem.

Chuck Moore

Minden