With gun violence coming under severe public scrutiny once again, United States President Donald Trump has turned the focus on an old argument. The question is, do violent video games cause real-world violence? To find a solution to the proposed problem, the President met with video game industry representatives and has been met with some opposition. Perhaps none has been a boisterous as the recent statement made by the International Game Developers Association.

In a recent Tweet from the International Game Developers Association, the organization took a clear and firm stance on the meeting.  The series of tweets lays out a pretty concise argument against the idea that video games and gun violence have any causal relationship. See the beginning tweet for yourself below:

1/ Let's be blunt on video games and gun violence-we will not be used as a scapegoat. The facts are very clear-no study has shown a causal relationship between playing video games and gun violence.

— International Game Developers Association (IGDA) (@IGDA) March 7, 2018

The seven-part Tweet shared on the International Game Developers Association page goes on to explain that statistics and studies both show that there is no correlation between the two. The message is a passionate one, driven by factual evidence and laden with the fact that for many, this is personal:

The Supreme Court has clearly established video games as protected free speech in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. And the stereotype of gamers as disaffected teenage boys is simply untrue; 41% of the 150M+ gamers in the United States are women, and more women over 35 play video games than boys under 18.

The United States plays the same video games as the rest of the world, but we’re unique in our problem with gun violence. Gamers come from all walks of life. We’re all genders, all ages. We’re teachers and students, parents and children.

Overwhelmingly, we’re law-abiding citizens who agree with the majority of Americans who support reasonable gun control measures like stronger background checks, banning bump stocks and high-capacity magazines, and a minimum purchase age of 21 for all firearms. Making video games-or any form of media-a scapegoat for consistently refusing to even CONSIDER the reasonable, rational firearm restrictions Americans want and deserve isn’t fooling anyone.”

Ultimately, the argument from both the International Game Developers Association and President Trump’s camp is one that has been had for some time between other groups without any real conclusion. While some studies have shown that violent games can heighten aggression, there has not been any link to it being the root cause of violent behavior. In fact, many studies have shown that video games help manage pain, reduce stress, increase cognitive function and even help with depression.

What are your thoughts on the International Game Developers Association stance? Could this industry meeting change our games? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!