According to a just-released Vanity
Fair/60 Minutes poll, the "vast majority agree violent games and
films contribute to violence in society," while most believe stricter gun laws
would not make most people feel safer.
According to the poll, 80% of respondents said they believed
depictions of violence in popular culture -- some "movies and video
games" -- contribute to violence in society. Of those, 45% said it
contributed a lot, while another 35% said it contributed "some."
Only 6% of said they thought it did not contribute to real-world
violence.
Women were much more likely to say entertainment violence
contributed a lot (55%) than were men (35%).
The president has directed new studies on the correlation,
and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee has
introduced legislation to conduct evenmore studies, and has made the issue a priority in his committee for this
Congress.
As to stricter gun laws, 65% said that either they would
make no difference (45%) or actually make them feel less safe (20%), according
to the study.
The study was conducted Jan. 24-27. It was a random poll of
1,052 adults nationwide. The margin of error was plus or minus three points.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook schools shootings,
the entertainment industry, through the major trade groups, has volunteered to
be part of the conversation about the impact of entertainment violence on real
violence.
