In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, authorities are divided about the influence of violent popular culture on aggressive behavior.
On December 19, West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill encouraging the National Academy of Sciences to investigate the effects violent video games can have on children. Referring to the Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association ruling of 2011, he exhorted, “Recent court decisions demonstrate that some people still do not get it. They believe that violent video games are no more dangerous to young minds than classic literature or Saturday morning cartoons. Parents, pediatricians and psychologists know better. These court decisions show we need to do more and explore ways Congress can lay additional groundwork on this issue. This report will be a critical resource in this process.”
