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25 years of politicians blaming video games for gun violence

But what about the video games? A brief history of blaming games for violence

Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, President Trump was quick to offer up plenty of ideas to combat the issue of gun violence in America, including one that politicians and other moral scolds have been leaning on for decades now: blame video games.

Reams of scientific research data refute a clear link between video game consumption and real world violence. And a 2011 Supreme Court decision protects video games under the First Amendment. But none of that discouraged Trump from holding a private meeting at the White House on Thursday with lawmakers, conservative media critics, and video game industry executives to debate the issue, again.

This is not the first time video games have been blamed for gun violence. And it probably won’t be the last. Here’s a look back through the years of politicians blaming video games.