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September 15, 2005
Link of the Day - More Censorship
Today's Link:
From the office of Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm:
Governor Signs Video Game Bill
September 14, 2005
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today signed the final two pieces of the bill package that will make the sale or rental of mature or adult-rated video games to children illegal. The new law applies to children age 17 and younger and will take effect on December 1, 2005.
On the face of it, this bill looks like a good, common sense idea. Under the surface, however, it's not so good. Why? The most recent ESA studies (pdf version) show that parents are present a whopping 92% of the time when video games are purchased. Furthermore, additional studies show that parents understand the ratings and choose to ignore them anyway. What's needed isn't legislation - it's parental responsibility.
Furthermore, as is common with many of these bills, video games are treated differently than any other form of art and media and are said to "[lack] serious literary, artistic, political, educational, and scientific value for minors." That's patently untrue.
The trouble, of course, is that a great many people will never read the actual text of the bill to see what it is they're actually voting on.
None of us - developers, parents or random concerned citizens - want to see violent or sexually themed video games in the hands of kids. We can all agree on the intent, but only the intent, of the legislation.
Passing laws like this that are certain to be overturned on First Amendment grounds are tremendous wastes of taxpayer dollars and do very little to address the problem the legislators seek to solve.
Posted by BrendaBrathwaite at September 15, 2005 07:53 AM | Discuss this post on our forums