School Shootings Bring Calls For Anti-Violence Legislation
The effects of the tragic shootings in Littleton, Colorado may be long and far reaching. Once again, it has prompted many to call for curbs on violent programming on broadcast and cable television and the Internet. This time it may be more than just talk, however. Many lawmakers are listening and some are threatening action.
A bipartisan coalition from Capitol Hill has openly called for protection from violent images on TV, movies and on computers. President Clinton has called for a summit meeting on May 10th between entertainment and Internet executives, government and religious leaders. The topic will be ³children, violence and responsibility.²
Speaking recently in the Rose Garden of the White House, President Clinton said, ³We must help parents to pass on their values to their children - in the face of a blizzard of popular communications that too often undermine those values.²
Hollywood and the entertainment community have long been some of the largest cash contributors to President Clinton and his election campaigns. It came as no surprise to some then when President Clinton also stated that he thought the media is not entirely to blame for the tragedy.
Said President Clinton, ³There is a market for it (violence). The American people buy it. The purchase it. They lap it up. In the end you¹ve got to take it back to the fact that we all have responsibilities. And it starts with parents.²
Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) has scheduled a congressional hearing to examine the impact of media violence on society and children. There are other calls for congressional action and/or laws restricting violent and sexual programming. This worries some civil libertarians.
Said Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn), ³...the public is so fed up with the killing of innocent children and the violence generally in our society. They¹re coming to a hard conclusion that the entertainment industry is contributing to those killings...If they don¹t act to regulate themselves, there will be attempts to impose censorship in this country, and that will be a sad day.²
Discussion Topic: What do you think about violence and the media? Do you support or oppose attempts to regulate the content of television, cable and Internet programming? Do you think the violence in the media contributed to the tragic school shootings in Colorado? Sound off in our discussion section!
Your Cable Bill May Soon Be Going Up: Cable operators are upset that ESPN is pushing another 20% license fee hike. The increase, scheduled to go into effect on August 1st, pushes the license fee many cable operators pay to ESPN to over $1.00 per subscriber. This hike comes a little more than a year after the last one.
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