Thesis: The U.S. government should not ban violence in video games, as this ban is unnecessary.

While it is true that children who play violent video games might emulate the behaviors they see in
violent video games, a ban on violence in these games is still unnecessary. Several studies conducted in 2004
by the National Coalition on Television Violence found that there is a correlation between viewing violent
video games and at least short-term aggressive behavior in children (Smith 5).These behaviors include,
“…acting out against siblings in role-playing activities that last up to 60 minutes after video game play
ends” (Smith 7). The behaviors exhibited by these children may be alarming; however, as stated in the
study, the behaviors do not last longer than 60 minutes. Children might indeed reenact violent scenes
from video games, but as one psychologist, Dr. Ima Smartguy, describes it, “The majority of children
often become bored with these role-playing activities after only 15 minutes and tend to move on to some
other form of play quickly” (qtd. in Olsen 59). This shows that children who play violent video games
may exhibit violent behaviors afterward, but those behaviors do not last very long and certainly do not
develop into a habit. Because children only reenact scenes for a short time during role-playing games, a
ban on these games is unnecessary.
Additionally, even though some children might reenact scenes in which crimes are committed, it
does not mean that those children will go on to actually commit those crimes. Dr. Jane Olson explains
that some children do, in fact, imitate crimes like murder and car theft after the children view those
crimes in video games (12). However, studies prove that the majority of children do not go on to actually
commit those crimes. In 2010, only “one out of 3,000 murders in the U.S. were fashioned after video
game scenes” (Johnson 35), and of those game-related murders committed, none were committed by
juveniles under 18 (Johnson 37). The results are similar for car thefts. In 2010, of the 5,000 cars
reported stolen in the U.S., only two had circumstances similar to video games that depicted car thievery
(Johnson 38), and none were committed by adolescents under the age of 18 (Johnson 39). This proves
that children who view violent video games do not commit the criminal acts they view in the games.
Because children do not actually commit crimes as a result of the violence they see in video games, the
government does not need to ban violence in video games.

Topic sentence shows that counter arguments will be presented and refuted.
Counter arguments presented in purple.
Refutation presented in green.
Assertion ties CA and refutation back to the thesis statement.