The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has issued a call to action this morning calling on the gaming community and its members to email their representatives in Congress and the President of the United States to let them know that blaming video games for the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut is wrong-headed, and that there is no research to suggest that there is a correlation between gun violence in America and playing video games.

In an interview on CBS This Morning Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that a frank discussion on a myriad of issues will be the only way to seriously curb gun violence in America beyond a discussion about gun control. That discussion should include violence found in some video games, substance abuse, and mental illness.

Reuters is reporting that the National Rifle Association, victims of gun violence, gun safety groups, gun owners, and unnamed representatives from the film and video game industries will meet with Vice-President Joe Biden's task force set up to come up with solutions and answers in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut that resulted in the death of 20 children and six adults.

Writing over at the official web site for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), Advisory Chair For Education & Outreach Betsy Gomez points out that Senator Jay Rockefeller’s (D – WV) recent announcement of a bill mandating that the National Academy of Sciences research the effect of video games on children is misguided and a very familiar topic for anyone who understands the history of the comic book industry.

University of Missouri Media Researcher Greg Perreault pens an enlightening article on violence and video games over at the Huffington Post, and while the entire article is definitely worth reading an excerpt from it really caught our attention. The excerpt is an exchange between Perreault and an unnamed journalist who contacted him looking to use him as an expert.

Kotaku points out that Chris Ferguson, who you may know better as the professor of psychology and criminal justice at Texas A&M University who often argues against the idea that violent video games have a causal effect to violent behavior in the real world, has written a small bit of commentary over at Time Magazine's web site.

On Friday morning's edition of Morning Joe on cable news network MSNBC Congressman Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) said that he doesn't think changes in guns laws would have stopped the Sandy Elementary School shooting last week that resulted in the death of 20 children and six adults. He also talked about violent video games, but to the congressman's credit he mentioned his own parental responsibility in keeping his son from playing "M" rated games.

The National Rifle Association held a press conference this morning defending guns rights and pointing the finger at big media. They also called for a national program for schools that would train school officials on how to best protect educational institutions. The program would use local volunteers and participation would be up to local communities and school boards.

In a segment that aired during Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto's show this week, Daniel Greenberg joined in to discuss Senator Jay Rockefeller's (D-WV) bill to study the effects of violent video games on children. Greenberg is the IGDA Anti-Censorship Committee Chairman and game developer at Washington D.C.-based Media Rez.

The Hartford Courant is highlighting a story about a 12-year-old Newtown, Connecticut boy who has started a campaign to "stop playing violent video games." Max Goldstein, a 12-year-old student who attends Newtown Middle School, says that he decided to stop playing games like "Call of Duty" after attending the funeral of one of his brother's friends who had been killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shoot

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D - West Virginia) has introduced a bill that would have the U.S. National Academy of Sciences study how video games and other media like films and television affect children. The bill would also expand studies already conducted by the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission.

Speaking to the LA Times to promote the new Quentin Tarantino movie "Django Unchained," actor Samuel L. Jackson said that fewer guns are not necessarily the answer in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings that resulted in the death of 20 children and 6 adults. Jackson also said that statements against violent media like video games and movies have little to do with the shootings that have happened recently.

While there is much discussion and hand wringing in Washington on cable news networks about the cause of the recent school shooting in Newton, Connecticut, this Washington Post report actually looks at some data. WaPo compares data from 10 countries related to video game spending versus gun-related homicides. The conclusion?

Disbarred Florida Attorney and anti-game crusader Jack Thompson seems to have come out of hiding to talk about the as-of-yet unestablished link between video media and the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday. In an attempt to connect with the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA), Thompson decided to leave a voice mail message for ECA President Hal Halpin. The roughly 35 second-long message from Thompson is equivalent to an "I-told-you-so" to Halpin, gamers, and the non-profit.

The news media, quick to find a cause for why a lone gunman would kill his mother, drive to a local elementary school, and kill 26 people (20 children) before killing himself, has turned to the usual scapegoat: video games. While it is understandable that people want answers, Fox News wastes no time in trying to connect TV, Facebook, and computer games to the horrific actions of Lanza. As transcribed by Kotaku, a Fox News segment hosted by Megyn Kelly with guest analyst Dr.

Children that have anger issues can be helped by using video games and biofeedback to regulate their out-of-control emotions, according to research conducted by Boston Children’s Hospital. That research has been published in the journal Adolescent Psychiatry. Jason Kahn, PhD, and Joseph Gonzalez-Heydrich, MD at Boston Children’s Hospital developed a game called "RAGE Control" because they saw that children were eager to play video games.

A new study by the Sleep Laboratory at Flinders University (a public university in Adelaide, South Australia) finds that teens who play video games for long periods of time have trouble getting a good night's sleep. The study conducted by masters student Daniel King (supervised by child sleep psychologist Dr.

UK papers The Telegraph and the Daily Mail seem to be delighted with a new study from researchers at Brock University in Canada published in the journal Developmental Psychology. The study, which bases its findings on 1,492 adolescents surveyed from eight high schools in Ontario over a four year period. Researchers say that 51 percent of those surveyed were female, while 49 percent were male. Participants were ages 14- to 15-years-old at the start of the study and 17- or 18-years-old at its conclusion.

The New York Times reports that mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik has been sentenced to 21 years in prison after an Oslo, Norway court ruled that he was sane when he killed 77 people. While the sentence for his shooting spree may seem short, the court has the ability to extend the sentence if he is considered a danger to society. Brevik's conviction is the harshest sentence permitted under Norwegian law.

Are there any themes or topics that should never be explored in a video game?

Australia New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione is taking a lot heat for comments he made recently blaming the rise of teen knife-related crimes on playing violent video games. Scipione recently told The Daily Telegraph that teens were being desensitized to violence by playing violent video games that reward them for "killing and raping people." Obviously a tired trope related to Grand Theft Auto spewed by politicians.

While details are still a bit sketchy, an Oakley, California teen has been arrested for attempted murder after an altercation while playing a video game online turned to real-world violence. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon after two friends - an unnamed twenty-year-old man and a seventeen-year-old boy got into an altercation. According to Jimmy Lee from the Costa County Sheriff's Department, the two men were playing an unnamed video game online, which led to an argument about something.

Gamasutra has a fascinating article on how developers in war-torn regions cope with developing games in the midst of chaos and bloodshed created by violence. Some, like Radwan Kasmiya from Syria, have fled to other countries but still find the wars they ran away from having a long arm and a strong influence on the ability to practice their craft.

Twenty-four-year-old college student James Holmes appeared in court this morning to face charges for killing 12 and wounding 79 others at a midnight screening of the film "The Dark Knight Rises" on Friday in Aurora, Colorado. The Courthouse News report described the suspect as looking "dazed and exhausted" as he appeared in court wearing the standard issue maroon prison jumpsuit.

Last night 24-year-old James Holmes used four guns (a rifle, a shotgun and two handguns, according police), and tear gas to shoot, disorientate, and trap theater goers attending the opening of The Dark Knight Rising movie at a theater in Aurora, Colorado. The attack left 12 people dead and 38 59 injured. He was arrested outside the theater by police shortly thereafter.

Speaking to IGN, Sony Santa Monica Design Manager David Hewitt revealed that God of War: Ascension will not feature violence against women. Hewitt said that the development team listened to some critics who pointed out that the game's E3 trailer was ultra violent.

According to new research from the University of Luxembourg, violent video games suffer from what researchers describe as the "Macbeth Effect" (see Lady Macbeth Effect). Dr. André Melzer from the University of Luxembourg and Dr. Mario Gollwitzer from the Philipps-University Marburg examined the behavior of 76 players after they played 15 minutes of "violent video game play."

Speaking at length with GamesIndustry International, Junction Point founder and Epic Mickey creator warren Spector thought the ultra violent themes on display during E3 were disturbing and said that these trends towards ultra violence need to stop.

While Spector admitted that he spent most of the show locked in a room demoing his latest game, Epic Mickey 2, he did notice some overall trends that he was uncomfortable with:

Several opinion pieces take aim at the latest trailer for Hitman: Absolution. The trailer, dubbed "Saints," borders on being offensive, according to some because it depicts the sexualization of violence against women. In a nutshell the trailers play out a fight between Agent 47 and several fem fatales disguised as nuns. Under those Catholic uniforms are the buxom forms of women who are clearly not dedicated to the service of the church. As the group of nuns approach the hotel room where Agent 47 is staying they strip off their disguises to reveals skimpy leather outfits.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA) and George Mason University President Alan Merten announced the creation of a series of interactive and educational computer and mobile phone game applications that teach youngsters about the risks and consequences of joining gangs. The goal of these programs is easy enough: to slow down gang recruitment levels in the state.

During the spring semester, GMU students used their programming skills and tapped into the attorney general’s office information of gangs to create several games and apps.