Joe Biden appeals to games industry on gun control task force
US Vice President Joe Biden is set to meet with representatives from the video game industry to discuss the role of violent video games as part of a wider task force.
US Vice President Joe Biden is set to meet with video game industry leaders this week to discuss the link between violent video games and gun violence as part of a wider task force into gun control measures.
The task force, formed by President Barack Obama in response to last month's mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, is aimed at coming with solutions for curbing gun violence in the United States.
According to Reuters, the White House has confirmed that Biden will also meet with representatives from the National Rifle Association (NRA), victims' groups, hunting groups, and gun owners to discuss possible policy changes to reduce gun violence, including proposed legislation to ban assault rifles.
Biden will reportedly meet with representatives of both the entertainment and video game industries to specifically investigate the role of violent media--including films and video games--in mass shootings. The task force is also set to look at access to mental health and disability services, and meet with parent, teacher, and education groups.
Obama has ordered the task force to report back by the end of January, ahead of the annual State of the Union address.
An NRA spokesman confirmed to Reuters that the group's top lobbyist, James J Baker, will attend Biden's task force meeting on Thursday this week.
Last month, NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre stated that violent video games are partially to blame for the Newtown shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, which left 20 children and six adults dead.
West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller also entered the discussion when heintroduced a Bill to Congress that would direct the National Academy of Sciences to investigate how violent games and other such programming affect children.
Laura Parker is the Associate Editor of GameSpot Australia. She loves adventure games, sparkly stuff, Trivial Pursuit, cake, Master Chief, earthworms, and rhetorical questions. She once stole a sandwich from Peter Molyneux.
