<\/a>A month after Newtown, here comes a new shooting app\u2014\u201cNRA: Practice Range.\u201d That\u2019s right, it\u2019s from those same tone-deaf folks who blamed video games for all of society\u2019s gun-related ills. Originally targeted for ages 4 and up, it has now been rebranded for ages 12 and up.<\/p>\n

Currently listed as iTunes\u2019 #3 rated app download, \u201cNRA: Practice Range\u201d stands just behind Ruzzle (a word game) and Fun Run (a game described as a competition between cute furry creatures) and ahead of Google Maps.<\/p>\n

The app sets up a shooting range and offers users the chance to fire away indoors, outdoors or at a skeet shoot. After you choose your venue and skill level, the opening screen shows one of ten brief safety tips, such as. \u201cNever use alcohol or drugs before or while shooting,\u201d or one of four NRA factoids like. \u201cThe NRA Eddie Eagle Gunsafe\u00ae Program has reached more than 256 million children\u2014in all 50 states\u2014since 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then you are invited to \u201cStart Shooting.\u201d You can accept the default weapon or for just $0.99 you can upgrade to something like an AK47 or a Dragunov SVD (a Russian semiautomatic sniper\u2019s rifle.) From there you enter a poorly designed shooting range scenario that is neither educational nor entertaining.<\/p>\n

As one reviewer on iTunes put it, \u201cWhatever you think about the NRA, this app is horrible. I was a competitive target shooter, both pistol and rifle, for many years and from a technical standpoint, this app is horrible. There is no sight alignment and trigger control associated with this shooting. It is just about blasting out bullets. No control required. Nothing learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main page of the app provides a menu of connections to the NRA\/ILA\u2019s website. In case you\u2019re not aware, the ILA portion of the title stands for the Institute for Legislative Action. It is the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association of America. On the site, you\u2019ll see banners proclaiming, \u201cFIGHT FOR FREEDOM. Our second amendment rights are under siege like never before,\u201d \u201cGun owners enter the fight of our lives,\u201d and \u201cThe semi-auto ban: is it back already?\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the game\u2019s incredibly poor technical design, the real purpose of this app seems clear: blast the NRA\u2019s propaganda into the hands of young gamers.<\/p>\n

Paul Tassi, a contributor to Forbes, writes news and opinion about video games, technology and the internet. In a recent post<\/a>, he looks at the NRA app this way:<\/p>\n

The most outspoken critic of the video game industry in the weeks after the Sandy Hook shooting has been the NRA, content to shift the blame for the tragedy, and all others like it, away from guns. They\u2019ve specifically called out games like Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse as being contributors to mass murder, while calling for more real world guns as a solution to the problem.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tassi is a fan of video games in general and has no problem with shooting games. However, he has a clear view of what\u2019s going on. In a second post<\/a> he expands his take on the NRA, its hypocrisy and the American fixation on firearms.<\/p>\n

If the NRA approves of guns being used for target practice, hunting, self-defense, war or a justified revolution, why would they condemn games that merely use any of those concepts as their subject matter? If the NRA supports a game about virtual target shooting, why would they be opposed to one about virtual war or a game where a gun is used to protect others from evil?<\/p>\n

Is it because of the blood? Because it\u2019s not exactly rainbows and unicorns when someone gets shot in real life, and games reflect that.<\/p>\n

Is it because it\u2019s \u201csensational?\u201d Because ads like this<\/a> aren\u2019t sensationalizing guns at all.<\/a><\/p>\n

Is it because the media is a\u00a0corruptible\u00a0influence? Here\u2019s a hint. It\u2019s because <\/i>we love real life guns so much as a society that violent shooter games are so popular. A society that is inherently fascinated with violence creates violent media, it\u2019s not the other way around.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A month after Newtown, here comes a new shooting app\u2014\u201cNRA: Practice Range.\u201d That\u2019s right, it\u2019s from those same tone-deaf folks who blamed video games<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":21417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1315,843,1656,1528,834],"tags":[1658,31,897],"yoast_head":"\n