Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., will be releasing a report on gun violence that he says shows there is no relation between mass shootings and video game use.
The report, compiled by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, comes almost a month after President Donald Trump blamed violent video games for the recent shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence,” Trump said after the shootings in Texas and Ohio that left 31 people dead.
In an interview, Leahy said the report, which compares the U.S. to seven other developed nations, shows there is no relationship between video games, gun violence, and mental health rates.
The Congressional Research Service, which provides policy and analysis to all members of Congress, compares the rate of firearm violence and video game revenue in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain and Sweden to the U.S.
The U.S. has the highest rate of gun violence and firearm ownership, but was second behind Japan for video game revenue and trailed Australia in rate of mental disorders present in the population.
“All these other countries have video games, all these other countries have mental disorders, but they don’t have the incidence of gun violence that we do,” Leahy said. “And that’s what I wanted to show.”
“This nonpartisan report, they don’t bring about conclusions, but they shoot down a lot of myths,” he added.
Since the most recent mass shootings, there has been added pressure on Congress to address gun violence when members return from their summer recess.
Leahy said he plans to push for a ban on high-capacity magazines and military style assault weapons, but cautioned the chances of gun control measures becoming law hinges on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the president.
“They will pass some significant legislation in the House, but unless president Trump and Sen. McConnell stop their opposition to it, it won’t go anywhere,” Leahy said.
In a recent interview, Vermont’s sole House member, Democrat Rep. Peter Welch, concurred with Leahy.
Welch said he will also be pushing for gun control and believes “the key” to passing gun control measures is the Republican-controlled Senate and the Republican president.
There will also be a renewed effort to pass firearm legislation in Vermont next session.
After Republican Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a proposal that would have created a 24-hour waiting period for handgun purchases, a measure gun control activists and Democrats say can help prevent suicides, state Senate Democrats say they plan to reintroduce a 48-hour waiting period bill in January.
For Leahy’s part, he said he is tired of the platitudes offered by politicians and that it is time to offer solutions for gun violence.
“Let’s stop the talking and the hand-wringing and the ‘Oh, let us pray,’” Leahy said. “It’s like praying for a cure for cancer but then saying we aren’t going to spend any money on cancer research.”
