The latest scapegoat promulgated by the NRA, gun manufacturers, and talking heads like Joe Scarborough for the unrelenting gun carnage taking place in this country––3,000 gun deaths since Newtown––is to blame the video game industry rather than the proliferation and easy access to guns.

But is there ANY evidence linking video games and gun violence?

The simple answer to that question is, “No.”

Some research and aggression studies have shown that playing violent video games can stir hostile urges and mildly aggressive behavior in the short term. And children who develop a gaming habit can become slightly more aggressive — as measured by clashes with peers, for instance — at least over a period of a year or two.

However, there is no definitive research indicating that playing violent video games over longer periods increases the likelihood that a person will commit a violent crime like murder, rape, or assault, much less a massacre.

If violent video games actually caused people to commit violent acts, then we would expect to see those violent acts in Japan, England, France and the rest of Europe. After all, don’t the youth of those countries play violent video games? Of course they do. But the youth and gangs in those countries are not killing each other in the streets. I wonder why?

Interestingly, as reported by Science Daily, according to a study by University of California sociology professor Augustine J. Kposowa in the February issue of the journal of Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, states with the highest rates of gun ownership — for example, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Alabama, and West Virginia — also tend to have the highest suicide rates.

“Kposowa is the first to use a nationally representative sample to examine the effect of firearm availability on suicide odds. Previous studies that associated firearm availability to suicide were limited to one or two counties. His study also demonstrated that individual behavior is influenced not only by personal characteristics but also by social structural or contextual attributes. That is, what happens at the state level can influence the personal actions of those living within that state.”

If we’re going to have a serious debate on gun violence, then let’s quit introducing red herrings and unsupported facts that distract from solving the real problem at hand.