Rep. Pelosi defends violent games

Politicians in the US have been weighing in on violent games for decades, usually to attack them. However, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) this weekend broke from the norm by offering up a defense to violent media during an interview on Fox News Sunday.

The remarks came after interviewer Chris Wallace criticized President Barack Obama's call for more scientific research into the effects of violent media and ties to real-world violence.

"We don't need another study, respectfully," Wallace said. "We know these video games where people have their heads splattered, these movies, these TV shows... Why don't you go to your friends in Hollywood and challenge them, shame them and say, 'Knock it off.'"

Pelosi said as a mother and a grandmother, she understood the concerns about violent media. However, she said, "In Japan for example, they have the most violent games than the rest, and the lowest mortality from guns. I don't know what the explanation is for that, except they may have good gun laws."

The legislator wasn't willing to completely dismiss the possibility of violent games causing real-world violence, but she said researching the issue was one part of a solution that also included stricter gun control laws and improved mental health care.

"I think we have to do it all, and that's why we included in there that we have to take a look at what these games are," Pelosi said. "I don't think we should do anything anecdotally. We have a saying here, 'the plural of anecdote is not data.' So we want to know what is the evidence, what will really make a difference here. And I think it has to be comprehensive."