California Tries to Ban Violent Video Games to Minors-Thank God they Failed

I head about this proposed law yesterday while listening to KGO 810 and I commented promptly as to how I believe parents are responsible for what games their children buy, not the gaming industries, the stores or even the government.

The two laws were passed in 2005, but have not been enforced yet.  Luckily, the U.S. Court of Appeals are debating if the laws were unconstitutional, despite how it might protect children from the horrors of video games.

One of my greatest fears is how laws pass “for the sake of the children”.  This is not only a dangerous tactic but a useful one as well.  I’m glad I have freedom of speech here in America and I understand it only reaches to protecting me from my government, not my work or any other private industry.  This proposed law obviously stretches to a violation of freedom of speech, even if it only proposes banning “M” rated game sales to minors.

My question is always, “What’s next?”  It seems well and good at first, protecting the children, but what is the governments definition of violence?  The video game industry already has a very harsh rating system in place to inform buyers what the ratings mean.  But, I fear if a parent if offended to how Mario smashes goombas Nintendo may have a problem with even their “E” rated games.

 

Another issue is how people presume violent video games induce violent acts.  However, there is no actual study, other then through correlation, as to how video games affect violent tendencies.  It is also very difficult to perform a random study, because people will not play a video game unless they want to, so it defeats the purpose of random selection.

With all of the acceptance and tolerance thrown around about religion, sexual preferences and other social issues, I wonder if privacy, free speech and safety are balanced now.  I think people are so concerned about being safe we forget how quickly we are loosing our Bill of Rights. 

It may just be video games for now, but I really try to think as to how it could change the larger picture of freedom of speech.  The government would love to chip away at it because it is the people’s greatest weapon against politicians. 

So, all I can say is write to the California legislature, including the governor, and tell them how you feel about these laws.  Also, don’t forget to write to your own State legislature about this and tell them you are thoroughly against any such laws prohibiting freedom of speech, even if it is for the sake of the children.

Children do not stay children forever, so don’t reduce their rights for limited safety.

E-Mail Schwarzenegger NOW!