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The National Rifle Association has looked to pile some of the blame for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on violent video games.
NRA head Wayne LaPierre decried violence in video games, and other media, during a press briefing last week regarding the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.
"There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against its own people," LaPierre said. "Through vicious violent video games, with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse.
"And here’s one: It’s called Kindergarten Killers. It’s been online for 10 years. How come my research staff can find it, and all yours couldn’t, or didn’t want anyone to know you’ve found it?
"Isn’t fantasizing about killing people to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?"
In response to LaPierre’s statements, California Senator Leland Yee has called the NRA’s reaction "pathetic and completely unacceptable."
Yee cites a law against violent games that went to the supreme court in 2011 – a law the NRA never supported in the slightest. The politician made it clear he felt the organization was too busy looking for a scapegoat, instead of involving itself in helping solve the real issues at hand.
"I find it mind-boggling that the NRA suddenly cares about the harmful effects of ultra-violent video games," Yee said in a statement. "When our law was before the Supreme Court — while several states, medical organizations and child advocates submitted briefs in support of California’s efforts — the NRA was completely silent."
