This is hypocrisy at its best.
Just a month after the National Rifle Association’s Vice President Wayne LaPierre told the nation that violent video games were to blame for massacres like the one in Newtown, Conn., the organization has released a new game called “NRA: Practice Range.”
To throw salt on an open wound, the release of the new game fell on the one-month anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.
The game, which is billed as appropriate for ages 4 and up, is made for iPhone and iPad devices and is free on iTunes.
According to the Huffington Post, it is a first-person shooting practice at either indoor or outdoor ranges.
The player has a choice of nine guns, though at first, only the pistol and the M16 are “unlocked”; you can unlock other weapons — like a Beretta, an AK-47 or a Dragunov SVD sniper rifle — for $1 each through an in-app purchase.
In between shooting rounds, the NRA displays gun facts and safety tips on the screen, including a link to the website that reveals new gun legislation and information about the organization.
But how can a game about shooting guns be appropriate for 4-year-olds?
TechCrunch speculates that the game was able to squeak through with a 4+ rating (which refers to the appropriate age range for players) because the guns in the game are aimed at non-living targets rather than living, breathing animals or bad guys. Also, the litany of gun safety tips that appear in between screens seeks to educate children about the right practices for responsible gun owners.
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The targets, however, are coffin-shaped with red bulls eyes at the head and heart level. And coffins are generally the shape of a human body.
Does this not constitute as human-like?
SOURCE: Huffington Post
