The deep social cost of the commercialization of violence is that when images of violence and suffering are torn from their social and moral context, their meaning is corrupted. The Legislature, showing concern over youth violence, decided to act on what lawmakers saw as one piece of the puzzle, helping students to learn more about the connection between guns and violence. They seemed to think they could address the issue of gun education without fully considering the marketing of violence. The report offered documentation that the NRA aggressively promotes its Eddie Eagle program as an alternative to gun safety measures and as a means to make firearms more acceptable to children and young adults. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the leading trade association for the gun industry in the United States, has also been keenly interested in reaching children as potential new gun customers.
Schools are an opportunity.
While Clinton's call for a study of selling violence stops short of calling for an investigation of how guns are marketed to children, it does carry an important message for all of us, including the Oregon Legislature. Carl Bybee is an associate professor at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.