Do you think violent movies, TV, and video games contribute NOTHING to the carnage in this country?

[loose wheel]

17. You mean to tell me...

that George Washington never looked out across a battlefield and said to himself, "Man, if I only had guns that could be fired faster than twice a minute and could hist something further than one hundred yards out."

The founder were aware of private ships of war and even provided for their contract use (see letters of marque in the constitution). These ships were capable of leveling entire cities, so it seems that they did provide that powerful weapons could be in civilian hands.

A heart rate over 220 bpm is redline danger territory for a heart attack or an aneurism, and the military does no such thing.

I don't think violent movies have much of an impact as a lot of the baby boomers grew up watching Westerns on TV and War movies at the theater.

The last point I'll bring up is one of agreement. Studies from WW1, WW2, and Korea indicated that only about 10% of American troops actively targeted and fired upon enemy soldiers. They were raised in an environment where "Thou shalt not kill" was the highest law. The US Army modified it's Basic Rifle Marksmanship program, and instead of stationary round targets, troops shot at human sihouettes that popped up and dropped down after a few seconds. This switched thinking from "Thou shalt not kill" to "Must shoot quickly" and ended that particular problem. Most video games don't provide the player with a simulated rifle, but the goal is kill quickly. So yes, they do have an effect on a some small portion of the population.