[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 202 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 202

 To express the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
       the broadcasting of video programming containing violence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 18, 1993

  Mr. Slattery (for himself, Mr. Glickman, Mrs. Meyers of Kansas, and 
Mrs. Roukema) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 To express the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
       the broadcasting of video programming containing violence.

Whereas 3 different Surgeons General, the Attorney General's Task Force on 
        Family Violence, the American Medical Association, the American 
        Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other 
        authorities have all found that viewing televised violence is harmful to 
        children;
Whereas Americans watch enormous amounts of television, and many children will 
        watch television for twice as many hours (22,000 hours) as they attend 
        school;
Whereas many children watch violent television programs without adult 
        supervision or guidance;
Whereas watching aggressive behavior causes children to become more aggressive, 
        and behavioral scientists have isolated this effect from other factors. 
        In one study, scientists found that childhood television viewing 
        patterns are a better predictor of later adult aggression and criminal 
        behavior than social class, parental behavior, child rearing practices, 
        intelligence and other variables;
Whereas many studies of entire societies, conducted on small and large scales, 
        show that violence and homicide rates increase dramatically after the 
        introduction of television into a community;
Whereas more than 20 years of research such as this has led to a consensus that 
        watching televised violence increases children's aggressiveness and 
        desensitizes them to the effects and implications of violence, and the 
        solidity of the agreement among respected scientists that televised 
        violence is harmful nullifies arguments to the contrary by the 
        television industry; and
Whereas many other countries, including Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, 
        Belgium, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, and France have taken action 
        to combat the problem of television violence: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That each of the 4 major television broadcast networks 
and their affiliates, independent television stations, the Public 
Broadcasting System, cable programmers, and cable operators should--
            (1) not telecast programming containing dramatized 
        violence;
            (2) superimpose explicit, on-screen viewer advisories or 
        displays throughout programming containing dramatized or 
        documentary violence;
            (3) provide explicit audio and on-screen textual viewer 
        advisories immediately prior to transmittal of programming 
        containing dramatized or documentary violence;
            (4) not transmit programming promotions or advertisements 
        which contain dramatized or documentary violence;
            (5) develop a standard scheme for classifying television 
        programming on the basis of the amount and type of dramatized 
        violence it contains; and
            (6) educate and inform viewers about the harmful effects of 
        exposure to television violence.
    Sec. 2. For the purposes of this resolution--
            (1) the term ``violence''--
                    (A) means the use or threatened use of physical 
                force against another or against one's self; and
                    (B) does not include idle threats, verbal abuse, 
                and gestures without credible violent consequences;
            (2) the term ``dramatized violence'' means the dramatized 
        portrayal of killings, rapes, maimings, beatings, stranglings, 
        stabbings, shootings, or any other acts of violence which, when 
        viewed by the average person, would be considered excessive or 
        inappropriate for minors.

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