Jay Dickey: “television allows violence to enter our home and permeate our lives and the lives of our children. There are 1,845…”

“television allows violence to enter our home and permeate our lives and the lives of our children. There are 1,845 individual acts of televised violence in a single day. In 1980, children's television programs included 18.6 acts of violence per hour. In 1990, children's television programs included 26.4 violent acts per hour. It is estimated that average children will witness 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violent before they reach the age of 12. I support Mr. Markey's bill, H.R. 2888, which gives parents the tools to stop violent programs from being viewed by children. H.R. 2888 is a balanced measure which does not infringe on first amendment rights, but instead gives parents the necessary tool to turn off the violence and control their children's TV habits by programming the remote controls. H.R. 2888 places the responsibility of raising children in the hands of the parents and not in the hands of the Federal Government and people who are choosing what to broadcast. While reducing the amount of violence on television is not the only symptom of the Nation's violent crime epidemic that needs to be cured, it is certainly a good place to start. I urge my colleagues to join us in cosponsoring H.R. 2888.”