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I did not find the conference televised live on my local stations. All I saw was the soundbite of good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns along with media opinions of that. So when the NRA sent a link to the entire conference to my email, I watched it. The media is scanned by the camera and many are ignoring him. Some even openly roll their eyes. The ideas put forth are sound and I agree with him that the unbridled violence of video games is part of the problem.

I consulted with child psychologists and psychiatrists when my son was growing up because he has intermittent explosive disorder and attachment problems. No, I did not teach him to shoot nor were guns part of his environment, but I was strongly advised to remove all video games that promoted direct violence against humans from the gamer's point of view whether it was guns, fists, or any other form of weapon. These doctors knew first hand that such games encourage children with problems to think of the experience given in the game being transferred to real life. I was frustrated to learn when he went to his friends homes he still had access to the worst possible games because of this denial that these games are a bad idea. My son is 26 now. He is married, but still under the care of a psychiatrist whom he has nothing but contempt for. His apartment has holes in every wall and door from his chosen method of expressing his anger--punching them with his fists during his episodes of fury. So far, he has not harmed anyone, but he has profound grudges against his father and I for things that are not realistic in the least. With a health science degree, I know the brain is a dangerous place to experiment with drugs. He has done that with illegal drugs and now his psychiatrist has him on a slew of legal ones she changes regularly. I live at that place where fear and love meet.

We may not all agree all the time with the choices of the NRA, but please please support them. If we do not all pull together, we will all lose. Thank you, Charles, for your tireless efforts to help gun owners and your tolerance.