found on the www @ http://www.policy.com/go.asp?url=http://www.senate.gov/~hatch/littleton.html
Statement of Senator Orrin G. Hatch
before the
Senate Commerce Committee
May 4, 1999
Hearing on Marketing Violence to Our Children
Thank you. I would first like
to thank the distinguished
Chairman of the Senate
Commerce Committee,
Senator McCain, for having
this timely and important
hearing. I would also like to
thank Senator Brownback
for chairing this hearing.
There is a sense among
many Americans that we
are powerless to change our culture and that this feeling of
powerlessness has restrained our ambition for solutions in
the wake of the Littleton tragedy. As Dr. William Bennett
said recently on a national talk show, if the two students
who committed the murders at Columbine High had "carried
Bibles and [said] Hail the Prince of Peace and King of
Kings, they would have been hauled into the principal's
office." Instead, they saluted Hitler and were ignored.
Ironically, it seems the only time we tolerate prayer in
school these days is in when people come to on-school
memorials in the
wake of tragedies.
If the murder of twelve innocent students and one teacher
cannot give us the strength to shed this defeatism, then
we are doomed to see more tragedies. I believe that we
can change our culture if only we are willing to lead. The
time has come for us as a nation to demand more
accountability from everyone involved -- including the
entertainment industry.
Some of you may know that, in recent years, I have taken
to writing inspirational music. My hope is that perhaps just
one person will hear my music and be inspired to right a
wrong or lead a more religious life. In short, I believe that
music and popular culture can be a tremendous force for
good. For example, take the film Schindler's List. I believe
that this one movie did more to educate a new generation
of Americans about the inhumanity, and the occasional
acts of courage and compassion, of the Holocaust than any
high school history course could.
So, I do not come here to attack Hollywood or the
entertainment industry. Indeed, this is just one part of a
much more complex problem. But I do hope that we can
encourage the industry to work with us to do what is best
for our children. Why can't this industry, which is a source
for so much good in America, do more to discourage the
production and marketing of filth to children. Why
shouldn't the industry help fight the marketing of violence
to young people?
The tragedy in Littleton was a bizarre and complex crime.
We should examine this and other school shootings from
every angle and not single-out one potential cause before
we know all the facts. Every serious explanation should be
considered. Nevertheless, as The New York Times noted in
its Friday editorial, "the search for the cause in the
Littleton shootings continues, and much of it has come to
focus on violent video games."
Indeed, studies have indicated that prolonged exposure of
children to ultra-violent movies and video games increases
the likelihood for aggression. As President Clinton noted in
his radio address last week, the two juveniles who
committed the atrocities in Littleton played the
ultra-violent video game Doom obsessively. In addition,
the 14-year-old boy who killed three in the Paducah,
Kentucky school killing was an avid video game player. In
fact, the juvenile had never fired a pistol before he shot
eight classmates that terrible day in 1997.
Given that there is evidence that extremely violent movies,
music, and video games have negative effects on children,
we must be concerned about how these products are
marketed and sold. According to the National Institute on
Media and the Family, some manufacturers of video and
computer games are marketing ultra-violent video games
rated for adults only to children. In 1998, the National
Institute on Media and the Family conducted a thorough
study of the video and computer game industry. Some of
the findings were disturbing. For example, lurid
advertisements for violent video games are aimed directly
at children. The advertisement for the video game
Destrega states: "Let the slaughter begin," while the
advertisement for the video game Carmageddon states:
"As easy as killing babies with axes." And as Senator
Brownback noted last week on the Senate floor, the
advertisement for the game "Quake" states: "Blowing your
friends to pieces with a rocket launcher is only the
beginning."
These and similar advertisements appeared in recent
gaming magazines which are targeted to teenagers.
Moreover, an advertisement for Resident Evil 2, a violent
video game rated for adults only, was featured in the
magazine Sports Illustrated for Kids. Few people would
argue that cigarettes, alcohol, or X-rated or NC-17 rated
movies should be advertised in children's magazines. Why
should such violent video games -- games the industry
itself has found unsuitable for children -- be advertised and
marketed to children?
In response to a series of hearings in the Senate Judiciary
Committee in 1993 and 1994, the video game industry
adopted a thorough and independent rating system of
video games. Industry compliance with the rating system
is high. Fairness dictates that these positive steps be
noted. Yet, despite such a comprehensive rating system,
there is little evidence that such ratings are enforced or
even taken seriously.
For example, last year, the National Institute on Media and
the Family found that despite such a voluntary rating
system for video games, only 21 percent of retail and
rental stores had any policies prohibiting the sale or rental
of mature games to minors. Just this weekend, less than
ten days after the Columbine massacre, a twelve-year-old
boy bought the video games "Doom" and "Quake" -- both
of which are rated for adult only -- without even a question
from a local Washington area retail store. In fact, this
particular ultra-violent game was actually recommended to
the twelve-year-old child by the store's clerks. As the boy
later observed, "I could have bought anything in the store
if I'd had enough money."
Violent and Misogynistic Music
Nor is the problem of marketing violence to children limited
to video games. In recent years, the lyrics of popular music
have grown more violent and depraved. And much of the
violence and cruelty in modern music is directed toward
women. As Senator Brownback noted on the Senate floor
last week, the group "Nine Inch Nails" had a commercial
success a few years ago with a song celebrating the rape
and murder of a woman. This is not an isolated example.
Hatred and violence against women in mainstream hip-hop
and alternative music are widespread and unmistakable.
Consider the singer "Marilyn Manson," whom MTV named
the "Best New Artist of the Year" last year. Some of
Manson's less vulgar lyrics include: "Who says date rape
isn't kind?"; "Let's just kill everyone and let your god sort
them out."; and "the housewife I will beat, the prolife I
will kill." Other Manson lyrics cannot be repeated here.
Again this weekend, a twelve-year-old boy bought a
Marilyn Manson compact disc from a local Washington area
record store, even though it was rated for adult content.
Ironically, the warning label on the disc was covered by the
price tag, which signals to me that these record warnings
are not taken seriously. Or consider Eminem, the hip-hop
artist featured frequently on MTV who recently wrote
"Bonnie and Clyde" -- a song in which he described his
killing his child's mother and dumping her body into the
ocean.
Despite historic, bipartisan legislation by the state and
federal governments, it is stunning how much modern
music glorifies acts of violence, sexual and otherwise,
against women. This music is what many children are
listening to. This music is marketed to our youth. We
should not ignore the fact that violent, misogynistic music
may ultimately affect the behavior and attitudes of many
young men toward women. One might argue that these
groups are not embraced by the entertainment industry.
How then would the industry explain a 1998 Grammy
nomination for Nine Inch Nails and a 1999 Grammy
nomination for Marilyn Manson? It is one thing to say
these people can't produce this material, it's another thing
for the industry to embrace it.
Many Americans were justifiably outraged when it was
discovered that tobacco companies marketed cigarettes to
children. I believe that we should be equally concerned if
we find that violent music and video games are being
marketed to children. Senator Lieberman and I have
recently considered asking the Federal Trade Commission
or the Department of Justice to investigate the marketing
practices of the video-game, music, and movie industry.
Such an investigation could determine the extent of this
problem and provide possible solutions. In addition, I have
begun discussions with Internet Service Providers and
computer manufacturers about how to make screening
software, which helps parents protect their children from
inappropriate material on the Internet, more readily
available.
Limiting access of ultra-violent music and video games to
children does not raise the same constitutional concerns
that a general prohibition on such material would entail.
For example, while some can reasonably contend that the
First Amendment protects certain X-rated material, no one
can reasonably argue that the Constitution prohibits
restricting such material to children. Consequently, I have
prepared an amendment to be offered on the Senate Floor
during the debate on the youth violence bill that would
direct the Administration to investigate the marketing of
violent music and video games to children. In addition, I
am considering an enforcement mechanism for the current
ratings system.
Mr. Chairman, next week the Senate is set to consider S.
254, the youth violence bill and any related initiations you
might advance as a result of this hearing. S. 254 is the
product of more than two years of work in the Senate
Judiciary Committee. It is, without question, the most
deliberated and considered crime bill before the Senate
today. I have been working in a bipartisan manner with
Senators Feinstein and Biden to get this legislation
enacted. While no legislation will ensure the prevention of
such tragedies as Littleton, S. 254 would help the States
improve juvenile justice and help deter juvenile crime.
Given the leadership that you have shown of this issue, I
would like the support of you and other members of the
Commerce Committee in getting S. 254 enacted.
Office of Senator Orrin Hatch
131 Russell Senate Office Building - Washington, DC 20510
senator_hatch@hatch.senate.gov - (202) 224-5251