On Dec. 21, National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre blamed the monstrous actions of Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, not on mental illness or easy access to a vast array of firearms, but on violent video games and movies (along with several other culprits). People don’t kill people, and neither do guns, according to LaPierre and the NRA. It’s what you play and watch that drives you to violence. Just as LaPierre called for armed police officers and security guards to be placed in every school across the United States – a strategy that proved woefully ineffective during the Columbine massacre in 1999 – he also called on the federal government to reign in violent media. How strange then that the NRA felt the need to release its very own first-person shooter.
NRA: Practice Range for iPhone and iPad was released on Sunday on the Apple App Store. The free game is “The National Rifle Association’s new mobile nerve center, delivering one-touch access to the NRA network of laws, facts, knowledge, safety tips, educational materials and online resources.” Its chief mode, however, is a target shooting game that has you pointing and aiming a rifle at targets on an open range or with a pistol at human sized targets on a shooting range.
You can also pay money for additional guns like an AK-47 or an MK-11 sniper rifle.
When it was first posted on Sunday, as noted by The Atlantic, the game was rated for ages 4 and up. As of this writing on Tuesday, the rating has been raised to ages 12 and up. According to the NRA it is perfectly appropriate for a 12-year-old to be taught how to handle an AK-47.
The NRA has released a number of branded video games in the past, including the Crave Entertainment-developed National Rifle Association Gun Club for PlayStation 2, a game that the ESRB rated for ages 10 and up. Of course there’s also NRA Varmint Hunter for PC.
It’s bad enough that LaPierre and the NRA are willing to brush aside the inherent problems of a culture obsessed with gun ownership, willing to blame murder not on human beings but media, but the NRA is grotesquely hypocritical as to release their own video game less than a month after their backward public statement.
Are you an idiot Anthony? How is shooting paper targets on a gun range violent? You are a big part of the reason that our freedoms are being legislated away. Pat yourself on the back numbnuts.
Are you ****ing kidding me. Food Ninja is a more violent and graphic game than this extremely basic marksmanship game against inanimate objects. This ap is as violent as pong. Grow the **** up and go back to school, you clearly missed some important reasoning skill development.
Unliking this page. Should have known it was full of leftist sheeple.
Once again the media gets it wrong … spins it out of context and stirs the pot …
What is violent about target shooting? Are you now saying that people who target shoot are mentally unstable? Did you post an article about the game that allows you to KILL the NRA President? It shows a dead guy behind a podium with blood on his head. Did you post something about THAT? Hey Digital Trends – you are part of the media bias problem. SHut the hell up. http://www.politisite.com/2013/01/15/video-game-players-kill-nra-president/
Your comments about the Columbine are clearly without you looking at the facts. The deputy who was in that school engaged the two suspects allowing more people to escape, and causing the two suspects to use up ammunition meant for their victims. This NRA game is nothing compared to Call of Duty and other truly violent games. Make sure you don’t drive your car today because several people were killed yesterday by cars. Obama is working on a bill to ban car ownership as we speak. Make sure you put that spoon down because it”s causing you to get fat. Swords are also being banned due to the huge amount of people who have been killed in history by them. PEOPLE cause all of these events, not the objects that are used.
So it’s okay for the anti-gun crowd to savagely attack the NRA and their substantial membership, then you act outraged when they respond in any way? Try showing some professionalism. I didn’t subscribe to Digital Trends for leftist editorials.
I’ve downloaded this game. It’s a great idea. I went to my first target range when I was in the Boy Scouts. I suggest you look up the location of a nearby range and go visit one before demonizing everyone who likes target shooting.
And if you do some research, you would see most police chiefs, if not all, warned these tragedies would happen back in 2004, and asked for the assault weapon ban to be restored:
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=384
All leftist, anti-gun lunacy right?
Carl, u mad bro?
This is comical. Target practicing view as violent media? I’m going to download it!
Im more shocked the NRA knows what an iPhone app is…
Gun haters what is killing people in Obama’s hometown? Hint fools it not assult weapons!!!!!!!
For every police chief or general people can find one that is close to their views
Digital Trends I highly recommend you give this leftist-liberal-minded loudmouth the boot before he causes you to lose even more people, and a nice apology for such obvious and blatant stupidity would be nice as well. I thought your site was better than this crap, but so long as idiots like this author are working there, it’s just another cesspool of stupidity and over-opinionated lunacy.
Here in my hometown the last time two people were murdered was not by guns but by a person with mental problems using a knife to stab two people