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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 122

To express the sense of the Senate with respect to the broadcasting of

video programming containing violence.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 17 (legislative day, JUNE 15), 1993

Mrs. KASSEBAUM (for herself and Mr. DOLE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

Transportation

RESOLUTION

To express the sense of the Senate with respect to the

broadcasting of video programming containing violence.

Whereas 3 different Surgeons General, the Attorney General’s Task Force on Family Violence, the American

Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other authorities have all found that viewing televised violence is

harmful to children;

Whereas Americans watch enormous amounts of television,

and many children will watch television for twice as many

hours (22,000 hours) as they attend school;

Whereas many children watch violent television programs

without adult supervision or guidance;
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Whereas watching aggressive behavior causes children to become more aggressive, and behavioral scientists have isolated this effect from other factors;

Whereas, in one study, scientists found that childhood television viewing patterns are a better predictor of later

adult aggression and criminal behavior than social class,

parental behavior, child rearing practices, intelligence,

and other variables;

Whereas many studies of entire societies, conducted on small

and large scales, show that violence and homicide rates

increase dramatically after the introduction of television

into a community;

Whereas more than 20 years of research has led to a consensus that watching televised violence increases children’s

aggressiveness and desensitizes them to the effects and

implications of violence, and the solidity of the agreement

among respected scientists that televised violence is

harmful nullifies arguments to the contrary by the television industry; and

Whereas many other countries, including Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Belgium, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, and France have taken action to combat the problem of television violence: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That each of the 4 major television broad2 cast networks and their affiliates, independent television

3 stations, the Public Broadcasting System, cable program4 mers, and cable operators should—

5 (1) not telecast programming containing dram6 atized violence;
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1 (2) superimpose explicit, on-screen viewer

2 advisories or displays throughout programming con3 taining dramatized or documentary violence;

4 (3) provide explicit audio and on-screen textual

5 viewer advisories immediately prior to transmittal of

6 programming containing dramatized or documentary

7 violence;

8 (4) not transmit programming promotions or

9 advertisements that contain dramatized or documen10 tary violence;

11 (5) develop a standard scheme for classifying

12 television programming on the basis of the amount

13 and type of dramatized violence it contains; and

14 (6) educate and inform viewers about the harm15 ful effects of exposure to television violence.

16 SEC. 2. For the purposes of this resolution—

17 (1) the term ‘‘violence’’—

18 (A) means the use or threatened use of

19 physical force against another or against one’s

20 self; and

21 (B) does not include idle threats, verbal

22 abuse, and gestures without credible violent

23 consequences;

24 (2) the term ‘‘dramatized violence’’ means the

25 dramatized portrayal of killings, rapes, maimings,
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1 beatings, stranglings, stabbings, shootings, or any

2 other acts of violence that, when viewed by the aver3 age person, would be considered excessive or inap4 propriate for minors.

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