An increasing number of violent crimes by minors have focused legislators and the public on where to posit responsibility for such crimes. As the massacre at Columbine High School shows, increasingly law enforcement and the public are targeting parents as responsible for the actions of minors who commit violent crimes. The family of one of the students slain in the massacre sued the parents of the two teenage gunmen for $250 million, accusing them of negligence (Hilliard, 1999, p. 1). The lawsuit names Wayne and Katherine Harris and Thomas and Susan Klebold, whose sons Eric and Dylan killed 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. From a diary explaining the massacre plan and bomb-making materials to a sawed-off shotgun barrel on a dresser in Eric Harris' bedroom, Sheriff John Stone claimed, "I think parents should be accountable for their kids' actions" (Hilliard, 2009, p. 1).
The violent crime at Columbine High School was so traumatic that many individuals blamed not only the parents of the shooters but also America's pervasive gun culture, violent video games and even the Goth music of rocker Marilyn Manson as responsible. One of these is filmmaker Michael Moore who, in Bowling for Columbine, provides a scathing critique of America's obsession with guns and gun culture. When Moore talks with Manson, Manson explains the violence perpetrated by the U.S. military is seldom blamed for promoting a violent culture because people target easier focal points like heavy metal music or video games. As Manson says when Moore (2002) explains more bombs were dropped on Kosovo on the day of the Columbine shootings than any other time: "The President was shooting bombs overseas, yet I'm a bad guy because I sing rock-and-roll songs, and who's a bigger influence?"
Kim Murphy and Melissa Healy (1999) report on Steven Pfiel whose trouble history went largely ignored by his parents who rewarded him ...