As I write this post, I am sad to report that in this past weekend alone, more than 20 children suffered gun violence in Chicago. As an ethics keynote speaker, ethics consultant and ethics book author, I am usually not inclined to insert myself into the news, I am worried that in the debate over gun control and gun violence, our country has not made one iota of meaningful progress. This is an issue that falls deeply and truthfully in the realm of ethics.
Banning firearms advertisements?
On August 9, 2023, Governor Pritzker of Illinois banned firearms advertising. It is called “Firearm Industry Responsibility Act,” and while I suppose I am happy, forgive me while I yawn. Said Pritzker, “Gun manufacturers shouldn’t get to hide from the law.” Of course, they shouldn’t, and while he likened the responsibilities of gun manufacturers to those who manufacture opioids, at best it seemed a tepid and pandering response.
Said Attorney General Kwame Raoul, a key backer of the law, “by signing this legislation, Gov. Pritzker has taken an important step to protect consumers and increase public awareness…any companies participating in depicting guns as tools for carnage will face serious penalties.”
Fair enough, but in these conversations, where blame is ascribed, what is all too obvious are the industries that seemingly escape scrutiny. For example, “The Hollywood Industry.” One of the more recent studies by Brad Bushman and Dan Romer writing for The Conversation (October 22, 2021), “shows that acts of gun violence in PG-13 movies nearly tripled over the 30 years between 1985 (the year after the rating was introduced) and 2015. Similar trends have been observed in popular TV dramas, with the rate of gun violence depicted in prime-time dramas doubling between 2000 and 2018.”
While I am reviewing industries, what about video gaming? A 2019 article by Philip Boffey noted:
“The National Center for Health Research, a non-profit non-partisan organization that critiques medical research, leans in the direction of worrying about triggering lethal assaults. It published an article on ‘Violent Video Games and Aggression’ which found that: ‘Very few studies have looked at whether playing violent video games increases the chance of later delinquency, criminal behavior, or lethal violence. Such studies are difficult to conduct and require very large numbers of children. It makes sense that since playing violent video games tends to increase the level of aggressive behavior it would also result in more lethal violence…”
Those representing Hollywood industries and video gaming always seem to point to non-conclusive results. However, as an ethics keynote speaker, ethics consultant and ethics book author, who has certainly met violent offenders, I wonder and question if politics doesn’t play huge roles within these discussions?
According to the ATF, in 2019 sightly more than 7 million firearms were manufactured in the U.S. and in 2020, slightly less than 7 million firearms were imported. These numbers are fairly consistent going back a decade or more. However, it is currently estimated that there are about 280 million illegal firearms.
Closing an awful loop, my guess is that this past weekend, illegal firearms were responsible for those shootings. In Chicago there was something close to a 60-percent increase in gun violence between 2019 and 2020. By 2021, the death toll in Chicago from gun violence was approaching 800. It is a statistic rooted deep within socio-economic problems.
Looking for a culprit
Ethically, to identify one culprit while going hands-off with other responsible industries such as video-gaming and entertainment seems foolhardy at best. In my opinion, and regardless of political party affiliation, it is long past time for all Americans, across all industries, to accept the culprit for gun violence as being the person they see in the mirror. There is more than enough blame for everyone to share. Are there enough ethical people who care?
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