[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15561]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      YOUTH VIOLENCE AND THE MEDIA

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                             HON. BOB STUMP

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 12, 1999

  Mr. STUMP. Mr. Speaker, last week, a very insightful article appeared 
on the Op-Ed page of The Washington Post. This article was written by 
William B. Ruger, Sr., chairman of the board of Sturm, Ruger & Company, 
which is located in Prescott, Arizona. Mr. Ruger is considered one of 
the most respected and responsible voices in the firearms industry. His 
motto, and the company's motto, has always been ``Arms Makers for 
Responsible Citizens.''
  The article dealt with violence as part of the ongoing debate since 
the tragedy of Littleton, Colorado. Bill Rugar's well thought out 
article would be required reading for anyone concerned about the role 
of the media as it relates to youth violence. I submit the article to 
be printed in the Record.

                       [From the Washington Post]

                        Our Daily Dose of Death

                       (By William B. Ruger Sr.)

       When was the last time the media portrayed the responsible 
     use of recreational firearms? You wouldn't know it from 
     reading the newspaper or watching television, but according 
     to the National Safety Council, the firearms accident rate 
     has declined 20 percent during the past decade, plummeting to 
     a 90-year low. In 1998, only one percent of accidental deaths 
     were attributable to firearms accidents.
       There is a subconscious anti-gun bias on the part of major 
     media. Certainly, our society has changed since I founded 
     Sturm, Ruger & Co., but I can assure you that my reaction to 
     a ``gang-banger'' on the news is precisely the same as that 
     of every law-abiding American--profound outrage.
       The antisocial elements of our society seem to hold the 
     rest of us hostage. The media constantly portray carnage and 
     gore, often in agonizingly slow motion, for no discernible 
     reason. The same goes for incredibly violent video games that 
     some young people play for hours on end. Such portrayals have 
     their staunch defenders, but as a firearms manufacturer, I 
     would implore them to stop using violence to make a killing. 
     Let's not pretend it's anything else. The incessant 
     desensitizing of our young people to mindless violence is 
     beyond measure and beyond comprehension.
       Graphic, vicious and sadistic films, television shows, 
     video games and music lyrics that trumpet wanton killing--
     often directed against the police--are outrageous. Drug and 
     alcohol abuse, the breakdown of the family, inadequate child 
     supervision and the lack of ``a decent respect for the 
     opinions of others'' (to paraphrase Jefferson) are far more 
     pernicious and harder to address than simply passing another 
     ``gun law.'' But we won't accomplish much until we stop 
     deluding ourselves into thinking that society's violence is 
     because of firearms and that the media bear no responsibility 
     for this witches' brew.
       More law enforcement agents were mowed down by machine guns 
     in ``Die Hard II'' than have been killed on duty in the 
     history of the nation. The impression left is that 
     ``something must be done'' to get machine guns off the 
     streets. But they have been essentially illegal since 1936. 
     We have so-called ``assault weapon'' bans, which do nothing 
     but ban guns that look like machine guns but operate just 
     like the shotgun President Clinton takes duck hunting--one 
     shot at a time.
       When anyone protests gratuitous violence or counsels 
     restraint in portraying violence, the media take umbrage 
     behind their right to do so. In 1955, we placed a full-page 
     ad, ``A Symbol of Responsibility,'' stating ``with the right 
     and enjoyment of owning a firearm goes that constant 
     responsibility of handling it safely and using it wisely.'' 
     Would not a little self-restraint similarly apply to the 
     right to produce a movie, print a newspaper or record a song?
       We recently protested to a major newspaper about its 
     irresponsible behavior in bringing a child to a gun show 
     display and then deliberately taking a photograph of him 
     brandishing a pistol in an unsafe manner. The newspaper 
     defended the photographer. We do not sell our products to 
     minors and deplore their unsupervised use, yet we were cast 
     as villains ``promoting violence'' by this same newspaper. 
     Similarly, television networks that show ultra-violent films 
     with guns portrayed in the most antisocial ways piously 
     denounce firearms on their evening editorials. Some won't 
     even run firearms safety spots because ``they show a gun.''
       Isn't it ironic that those who scorn the Second Amendment 
     are cavalier in treating the First Amendment as their right 
     but not a responsibility? Let anyone ask for any restraint of 
     those who would abuse their First Amendment rights to incite 
     antisocial behavior, and the purveyors hide behind that 
     amendment, loudly decrying ``censorship.'' While there are 
     legitimate adult uses for firearms, nothing justifies this 
     excessively violent ``free speech'' aimed at our youth in the 
     guise of ``entertainment.''
       Our corporate motto is ``Arms Makers for Responsible 
     Citizens.'' We have strongly supported more than 20,000 gun 
     control laws and ``point-of-sale'' background checks for new 
     gun purchasers. We voluntarily ship our pistols in lockable 
     boxes as a precautionary measure. I only wish that others 
     would also become symbols of responsibility before they 
     desensitize another generation of youth to the horror of 
     violence. We are all sick of it.

     

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