In response to two mass shootings in the country over the weekend, President Trump held a press conference on Monday in which he cited violent video games as the primary cause of gun violence in America.
"We must stop the glorification of violence in our society," he stated. "This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace."
The link between violent video games and mass shootings was first thrust into the spotlight after the 1999 Columbine shooting. Reports used the fact that the shooters frequently played a video game called Doom as the catalyst for the attack.
At the time, it was important that national press gave meaning and reasoning to the attack in order to diminish country-wide panic over what seemed like an act without a cause.
A 2012 Washington Post study including ten different countries found no link between violent games and gun violence whatsoever.
"Looking at the world's 10 largest video game markets yields no evident, statistical correlation between video game consumption and gun-related killings," the study states.
When Fox News did their segment on the El Paso and Dayton massacres over the weekend, video games were a frequent topic of discussion.
"We’ve always had guns, always had evil, but I see a video game industry that teaches young people to kill," said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Fox & Friends .
"I’ve always felt that [video games] are a problem for future generations and others," McCarthy said. "We’ve watched from studies, shown before, what it does to individuals, and you look at these photos of how it took place, you can see the actions within video games and others."
Within the entire press conference, there was no mention of stricter gun laws, easy gun access, or gun control of any kind.
Do you think that Trump's remarks regarding the shootings properly addressed the issue?
h/t: Huffington Post
