Dianne Feinstein and the NRA Finally Agree: Video Games Cause Mass Killings

Violent video games act as a “simulator” for would-be murderers, says Democratic California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Looks like the game bashing continues.

In an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe last week, Senator Feinstein states, “I think the really violent video game becomes a kind of simulator to practice on. And it enables the individual to become much more familiar with that depiction of death and blood.”

Yes, shooting an alien breed with plasma laser cannons mounted on their backs completely acquaints a gamer with how things are in real-life massacres. Plus, the leading cause of turtle deaths in the world is “crushed by severe jumping force,” so that’s totally on gaming, too.

The senator did add, “Of course it's not the way it is in real life,” which is strange because, if we hadn’t been told that, we would have gone on believing that a ninja jumping out of a plane wearing a pink bandanna is completely realistic.

This isn’t the first time the senator has tackled the monstrosity of video games, having previously stated that interactive entertainment has “a very negative role for young people,” and arguing “the industry ought to take note of that."

The senator had then released a less-than veiled threat of prohibition against the industry, claiming "If Sandy Hook doesn't do it, if the knowledge of these video games this young man played doesn't, then maybe we have to proceed, but that is in the future.”

This statement in particular seems to reflect the sentiment of Democratic California Senator Leland Yee, who had previously attempted to illegalize the sale of violent video games to children.

I’m actually quite worried about this; the Second Amendment defends our right to keep a gun but — and this is very unfortunate — there is no amendment that protects us from someone abridging our freedom of speech, or of the press.

This, of course, isn’t the first time games have been blamed for real-world violence, with the most famous example being NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre’s rant against the industry following the Newton massacre.

At the time, LaPierre had stated that video games were “a dirty little truth the media tries to conceal” and described them as a “callous, corrupt, and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against it’s own people.”

It’s pretty strange, then, that there are entire media websites dedicated to reporting on video games when they are supposed to be concealed; we must stop these people who are irresponsibly leaking the secrets.

Also, if the industry did actually inspire people to sow violence against its own people, most enemies in games wouldn’t be heavily accented foreigners or demons raining from the sky.

It’s also kind of strange that someone from the NRA opposes gaming when video games now actually allow us the option to purchase in-game guns in real life.

Isn’t that a positive for our gun sellers, the people that provide us our instruments of safety and have our genuine well-being at heart?

I guess this is ultimately what we call bipartisanship. Be you liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, parent or retired cop, one thing is certain: shiny disks and red pixels are the bane of modern existence.