Friday, January 03, 2014

Petition regarding video game

I don't usually copy and post email newsletters that come to me, mostly because of copyright issues, but in this case I don't think the organisers will have any concern with me posting the following:

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has been working for weeks now to get the grotesque "Slaying of Sandy Hook" video game removed from the Internet.  Prior to the one-year annivesary of the Newtown tragedy on December 14, 2012, we contacted the three websites still hosting the game and asked them to delete it from their servers. Despite getting a verbal commitment from one website host to do so, none have done so as of today.
With over 11,600 names on our petition to have the game deleted (including yours), it's time to turn up the heat on those who continue to host "The Slaying of Sandy Hook" video game. That's why I'm asking you to email the following three website hosts to tell them to remove the game from their servers immediately:
Website: swfchan
Admin Name: Mackan Zoor
Email: mikper56@gmail.com
Website: swfcabin
Adminstrator: Pascal Smeets
Email: p.w.m.smeets@gmail.com
Website: Game Jolt
Administrator Name: David DeCarmine
Email: hworld@holo-world.com
Feel free to use the following template for your email:
Dear ______,
I am contacting you because your website, swfchan, is currently hosting the video game, “The Slaying of Sandy Hook Elementary.”  I have signed a petition calling on the creator of the game, Ryan Jake Lambourn, and websites like yours that are hosting it, to permanently remove it from the internet.  So far the petition has been signed by more than 11,600 Americans:
http://csgv.org/action/tell-animator-newtown-massacre-game/
Ryan Jake Lambourn claims on his website that he is a supporter of tighter firearm regulation and intended his game to be a tool in service of that goal. I hope you can see that in this case, however, that the graphic and violent nature of the game is not helpful, but instead very hurtful to the survivors of that tragedy (and other gun-related massacres).
I am not trying to squelch your right to free speech or impinge on your business.  I am reaching out to you simply as one human being to another and asking if you would consider removing “The Slaying of Sandy Hook Elementary” from your website in order to spare some good people unnecessary pain during a very hard time.
Thank you very much.
There is no room in civil society to glorify mass shooting atrocities as entertainment and inflict unnecessary pain on survivors who are still grieving over the loss of their loved ones. We have heard personally from several survivors who find this game offensive and damaging. Enough is enough.
Thank you for your continued help in this campaign. If we stand together and keep the heat on, I am confident we can prevail and do right by those who lost so much at Newtown.
Sincerely,

Josh Horwitz
Executive Director
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

If you agree with this, perhaps you could send these websites an email too. 

No comments: