RFK Jr. dredges up a decades-old argument that gun violence in the U.S. could be due to violent video games

Today, an old, tired argument about gun violence has struck again. On Tuesday this week, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held an hour-long event to discuss children’s health in the country. At one point, the Secretary touched on the topic of mass shootings. Kennedy suggested several possible reasons for the U.S.’s disproportionate amount of gun violence, such as psychiatric drugs, social media, and, of course, violent video games. Initially spotted by The Daily Beast.

Violent video games once again become a scapegoat for gun violence in the U.S.

The argument that violence in video games can lead to real-world violence has been around since at least the early 1990s, when the original Doom was released. Despite proof to the contrary, pundits and politicians continue to ring the alarm bells about video games rather than look at the real issue. In his event, RFK Jr. brought up a comparison to Switzerland, saying: “Switzerland has a comparable number of guns as we do, and the last mass shooting they had was 23 years ago…” From here, RFK Jr. begins to consider what could be causing this, throwing out ideas like video games. According to the secretary, they are preparing to do some studies to determine the validity of some of these possible causes. But, even in the Switzerland comparison, RFK Jr. misses the key differences.

First, Switzerland has a very different culture from the U.S., just in general, but also specifically around guns. I’m not a resident of Switzerland, but in researching this article, I learned that there is an annual rifle shooting competition that, before the turn of the century, was the largest shooting competition in the world. These events are attended by thousands of people, even in recent years, and include children aged 10 years or older. As a U.S. citizen, I can’t think of anything of a similar scale that happens here.

From an article by Action on Armed Violence, a London-based charity, “It is a mistake to consider Switzerland a ‘gun paradise’ on par with the United States, where ownership is relatively unchecked. While Switzerland does have a high rate of gun ownership, this is tightly regulated.” Going on to explain more of the culture behind firearms in the country: “Swiss gun culture is rooted in national defense, not individual rights or personal protection.” As is the case with most gun ownership in the U.S.

But that’s not even getting into the video game portion of it all. In 2019, a study by the University of Oxford found that violent video games have no association with increased aggression. Lead Researcher and Professor Andrew Przybylski said: “Despite interest in the topic by parents and policy-makers, the research has not demonstrated that there is cause for concern,” via the University of Oxford.

So, please, RFK Jr., just strike video games off the list of possible culprits right now. Studies have already investigated the relation between violent video games and real-world violence, and it’s not there. But if we actually focus on making sure people who want to buy guns are going through comprehensive background checks, putting extra limitations on who can buy automatic weapons, and start working on shifting the country’s culture and relationship with guns, we might see some real progress.

• policies
• USA
• violence