Raymond Kuntz, Sam Brownback, and Joseph Lieberman

About the author: Raymond Kuntz's teenage son committed suicide in 1996 while listening to a CD by the heavy metal group Marilyn Manson. Kuntz testified November 6, 1997, on the effects of heavy metal music on teen suicide before the U.S. Senate's Committee on Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Governmental Management, Restructuring, and the District of Columbia. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas is the subcommittee's chair and Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is a ranking member of the subcommittee. Both senators are actively involved in investigating the effect of violent lyrics on youth and in encouraging music corporations to take responsibility for those lyrics.

Heavy metal music glorifies death and encourages violence and suicide among teenagers. The offensive lyrics found in heavy metal music contradict community values, harm...