Government Report Says That the ESRB Could Do More to Stop School Shootings

Whenever theres a mass shooting in America, people become desperate for some kind of explanation: could it be the guns? Abusive parents? Guns? Bullying? Or maybe guns? Maybe its a lack of proper security. Maybe its all the guns. Some suggest that violent TV shows and movies are to blame. And others think that its the easy access to dangerous and unregulated guns.

We may never know whats really at fault except we do know its guns. But that hasnt stopped the US from trying to blame everything except guns. Which is why in a big study on ways to make schools safer following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting (shooting, as a quick reminder, requires a gun) suggests that a stricter ESRB might help curb all these mass shootings with guns at schools.

"Children have 24/7 access to multiple forms of entertainment at their fingertips. Their exposure to violent entertainment is of particular concernin television, videogames, social media, music, movies, graphic novels, and books. Violent content is ubiquitous across these platforms and continues to grow

Neighbors of the alleged Parkland shooter, for instance, told reporters that he often played violent videogames for up to 15 hours a day. According to one, 'It was kill, kill, blow up something, and kill some more, all day'."

The report suggests that 90 percent of video games contain violence (whereas 100 percent of school shootings have involved a gun), and that regular exposure to the activity could be harmful to children despite the fact thats never once been proven in any kind of scientific study. And the study firmly suggests that the ESRB should re-evaluate how it grades games in the ongoing effort to protect children from guns.

"As the videogame industrys self-regulatory body, the ESRB is responsible for enforcing its rating system. It requires complete disclosure of content during the rating process and proper display of rating information on packaging and wherever the game is marketed or sold. This is to comply with industry-adopted advertising and marketing guidelines intended to ensure that video games are not marketed to audiences for whom they are not intended.

And dont worry, the report does mention guns, namely that stricter age limits on purchasing guns would likely not help and that any guns taken during an investigation should be returned as quickly as possible. Because god forbid there are fewer guns in the streets. Can you imagine how terrible that would be?

If we had fewer guns?