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The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Letter to the Editor

By Bart Gatrell, Senior, International Relations Major

Editor:

Regarding Cory Robison?s Oct. 22 opinion column, “Hollywood’s Violent Films Deserve 1st Amendment Attention,” some people, especially me, go to movies to escape reality. I like a good action flick here and there and appreciate Hollywood’s creative mind for keeping us entertained. I hope they continue to do so.

But do violent movies help terrorists plan their horrific acts? Please, give me a break! This is the chicken-egg issue. Which one came first? It is Hollywood that watches the news and gets the idea to make movies starring Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal.

The reason why terrorism is becoming more violent is that governments have found ways to combat terrorism. Therefore, terrorists have to think of new methods. We’re like the Borg from ?Star Trek?: They may hits us a few times, but eventually we adapt to their tactics, and then they have to think of new ones.

Should the First Amendment be ignored and prohibit violent movies? Absolutely not. The Bill of Rights is not subject to change just because the public says so.

It doesn’t matter if someone speaks maliciously of Jews or African-Americans; they may speak freely. It doesn’t matter if kids are shooting themselves in school; law-abiding citizens can purchase and own guns. It doesn’t matter if someone was caught red-handed; they have the right to a fair trial.

It is the Constitution, mainly the Bill of Rights, that should influence the public. And censoring movies won’t help anything either. Violence has been around for thousands of years before movies, censoring them won’t help at all.

Bart Gatrell, Senior, International Relations Major

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