Pelosi: singling out games in gun violence debate unfair
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says a "comprehensive" effort is needed to get to the root of gun violence in the United States.
House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) believes singling out violent video games in the ongoing gun violence debate in the United States is unfair. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Pelosi said a "comprehensive" effort is needed reduce gun violence in the country, with additional research into the effects of violent games just one part of that drive.
Interviewer Chris Wallace asked Pelosi, "You have a lot of friends in Hollywood. Why don't you go to them and publicly say, 'I challenge you to stop the video games'?" Pelsoi said she understands this position, but noted there may not be a direct connection between violent games and real-world violence.
"I understand what you're saying. I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother," Pelosi said. "The evidence says, in Japan for example, they have the most violent games and the lowest mortality from guns. I don't know what the explanation is for that, except that they might have good gun laws."
She criticized Wallace for harping on only "one piece" of the overall issue at play. Pelosi said she hopes to see a ban on future sales of assault weapons and increased capacity magazines. She also said she advocates for background checks and stands by a citizen's right to own a weapon.
Ultimately, Pelosi said "we have to do it all" if gun violence is to be reduced in the country, which includes the further examination of violent games.
"I think we have to do it all. We have to take a look at these games are," Pelosi said. "I don't think we should do anything anecdotally. We have a saying here: the plural of anecdote is not data. And so we want to know: what is the evidence? What will really make a difference here? And I think it has to be comprehensive."
Pelosi's comments follow President Obama's announcement of a new $500 million, 23-point plan, which calls on Congress to allocate $10 million to allow the Centers for Disease Control to conduct further research into the relationship between game violence and real-world violence.
