Lawmakers May Pull Plug on Violent Video Games

[pstokely]

http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/c261de75-c0a8-2f11-0163-66f433d41528/e05f0366-c0a8-2f11-00f6-ba272c9ad089

JEFFERSON CITY - The $10 billion-a-year video game industry might face new state regulations. Missouri lawmakers are considering a proposal to stop stores from selling games with "mature" ratings to minors.


"Video games are one place we see sexually-explicit situations, very violent behavior that is encouraged by these games," said Democratic Rep. Jeff Harris of Columbia. "And those aren't the kind of things our kids should be exposed to, and I think we should stand up and stop it."

Video games cater mostly to people less than 18 years old. The proposed law would make selling mature-rated games to minors punishable by a $5,000 fine or even jail time. So, stores such as Best Buy and Slackers could lose money.

[Angry Girl]

1. Whatever happened to parents?

I'm so tired of the "well-intentioned" government trying to censor my entertainment.

What if I want to play a shoot 'em up at the end of the day? A much better way to take out daily frustrations than going down to the mall wiht a rifle!

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. If the parents were doing their job and monitoring the games their kids

play, then we wouldn't have that problem.

But how do you legislate better parenting?

[Angry Girl]

10. Start educating the youth that parenting is not all fun and games

and that it involves a sense of responsibility, and some degree of education, maturity, and financial stability.

Instead all I see in the media are messages about how wonderful it is to be a parent, how great it is to have kids, how it's terrific to have a "real family" (because families without kids aren't families?). How else to interpret the displays of pregnant celebrity icons and their glorious parenting lives (NOTE to future parents: nanny, diaper service, chauffeur, and personal assistant NOT included).

Truth is quite a few people, had they known that having babies isn't how it's portrayed on TV, would have decided against having kids or would have waited until a more stable time in their lives, both emotionally and financially.

But brainwashing the poor and uneducated into having kids is a sure way to bring that socioeconomic group down even further. And class warfare is what the Scumbag's administration is all about.

[TheWraith]

2. They do know we had violence before we had video games, right? NT.

[sui generis]

3. they should be fining the parents, not the stores.

The only thing that's going to happen is a lot of store owners are going to end up poorer. It won't do a damn thing to curb violence among teens or bad parenting.

Somebody in Missourri needs to stand up in session and mock that idea. It does NOTHING to keep minors from procuring and playing those games elsewhere. Are they going to make driving across state lines with those games illegal? Are they going to make PLAYING those games illegal?

It's just another misguided dumb idea that doesn't address any real problem in any meaningful way.

ON EDIT: I'm not for any form of enforced censorship. Labeling, who cares. That's just information to make an informed purchase with.

[Chimichurri]

4. My husband who's 33yrs old plays video games - He's not

allowed to buy them either? Where are we, China???

My goodness.

[pstokely]

6. tell that to the reporter and legislator

[Kagemusha]

5. Laws like these are being struck down by courts left and right.

Precisely because they infringe on adults' rights and in many cases on accepted rights of minors.

[AllegroRondo]

7. It doesnt say they cant sell "Mature" games

they just cant sell them to minors.
Just like they cant let minors in to see an R rated movie without parents.
I dont have a problem with this.

[Solon]

11. Actually, you are wrong...

There are NO laws on the books in any state that forbids stores from selling R rated movies to minors. The reason for this is actually quite simple, the First Amendment. Now, stores, being private entities, do have STORE policies where they won't sell such products to kids, but neither the store nor its workers face legal sanctions if they violate the policy. Worst case scenario, a cashier gets fired, and that's about it. Same for movie theaters, however, the MPAA learned that it is good for business to pressure the theaters, by forbidding movies to them, if they don't follow such a policy. Even then, there are inconsistancies in how such policies are enforced, some theaters only allow minors into age inappropriate movies if their parents are present, others, any adult will do, etc.

What would be effective is actually boycotting stores that don't have or don't enforce, such policies when they should, that is the only way such policies are going to be put into practice, but even then, no one should complain if a parent buys GTA:SA just because they can't read the package or see the big M for MATURE label that is printed on it.

[cornermouse]

8. Some of these games are very violent.

I don't buy them and since they don't offer any alternatives other than educational games for preschoolers and early gradeschoolers, stores such as Best Buy and Slackers are already losing money because I don't shop there any more.

[Solon]

12. You can go into any Slackers or Best Buy and buy Nintendogs, Super Mario..

Sonic or other games that are for Everyone, if you are going to boycott them for providing violent games also, then be consistant and do the same for music stores(explicit lyrics), and movie stores as well. One reason TO boycott them is if they don't enforce the ESRB ratings, then I can see a complaint, so ask aobut their policy FIRST, before you make a fool of yourself. I know certain Best Buys have the registers keyed so that some age restricted games are flagged for ID through the computer, similar to controlled substances actually.