Bill That Would Have Created Mass Violence Commission Defeated

By John Eggerton
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

An amendment was defeated in the Senate Wednesday that would
have created a commission to study the causes of mass violence, including media
violence.

The vote was 54 to 46, but 60 votes were required for
passage of the amendment.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) had
introduced the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act as an
amendment to the larger bill to try and extend background checks to gun shows
and online sales.

But it also had a provision establishing a "a
commission of non-elected experts in their fields who will study the causes of
mass violence in the United States, looking at all aspects of the problem,
including mental health, guns, school safety and portrayals of violence in the
media. This broad approach is absolutely necessary to truly address our culture
of violence."

Still up for potential debate is anamendment by Sen. Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) that would direct the FCC, FTC and
HHS to conduct a media violence study.

An alternative Republican gun bill unveiledWednesday would also include media violence research.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.