California Violent Gaming Bills Fail To Advance

Thanks to Reuters/Yahoo for its article discussing the failure to progress of two California violent videogame bills, since they "failed to clear a committee of California's state Assembly, killing them for 2004 unless the committee changes its mind." However, "One bill, which would expand the definition of 'harmful matter to children' to include certain types of violent games, received a favorable 5-1 vote, while the second, regulating how some games are displayed in stores, got a 3-1 vote" - but "both needed 7 votes in favor to be approved." Bill sponsor Leland Yee has released a statement claiming: "I am deeply disturbed that money ruled the day here in Sacramento... Rather than protecting our children and giving our parents a tool to help raise healthy kids, the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry was allowed to shoot down necessary legislation."

Comments

Let's hope that the entertainment industry...

[ronfar]

...continues its good work in this regard by "shooting down" Leland Yee, figuratively of course, by helping to make him lose his next election.

Seriously, some happy news amidst the general gloom these days...

This sounds familiar...

[Gothic_Walrus]

"I am deeply disturbed that money ruled the day here in Sacramento... Rather than protecting our children and giving our parents a tool to help raise healthy kids, the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry was allowed to shoot down necessary legislation."

How is this any different from other special interest groups? We see laws shot down by the movie industry, by the NRA, by Grandmothers Against Rubber Sheets, and no one says anything at all.

When the law concerns video games, however, it's "a tool to raise healthy kids" and "necessary legislation," and the media makes a big deal about the bill's failure to pass?

Heck, as far as I know, the video game industry wasn't even fighting the law. I haven't heard any stories about Nintendo and Microsoft sending lobbyists to the California legislature to tell people about the joys of gaming.

Seems a bit unfair to me...

Re:This sounds familiar...

[Otter]

How is this any different from other special interest groups? We see laws shot down by the movie industry, by the NRA, by Grandmothers Against Rubber Sheets, and no one says anything at all.

Heh, I was about to make the same point from the opposite direction -- I guess we won't be hearing any complaints about deep-pocketed lobbyist buying votes and depriving honest video game banning citizens of their democracy on this story!

I haven't heard any stories about Nintendo and Microsoft sending lobbyists to the California legislature to tell people about the joys of gaming.

Oh, well then. If Slashdot hasn't been publishing hysterical exposes of information found in Word files from pro-gaming lobbyists, the entertainment industry must have decided to step aside and let democracy run its course.

Re:This sounds familiar...

[Merkuri22]

I think the reason that video game violence gets more attention than other media violence is because of the way we intereact with video games. Or rather, that we do interact with them, rather than passively watching. A parent concerned about their child and violence will probably be less concerned about their child watching a person murdered in cold blood than about their child actually performing the murder in cold blood, albeit in a virtual sense. In video games, the player is not just watching the violence, but participating. This makes games all the more threatening to folks who feel violent media is a danger. Thus, laws against video game violence get more press than laws against movie or television violence.

Re:This sounds familiar...

[PainKilleR-CE]

How is this any different from other special interest groups? We see laws shot down by the movie industry, by the NRA, by Grandmothers Against Rubber Sheets, and no one says anything at all.

It's not, really, and a quick check on Google will find that Leeland Yee is backed by a couple of special interests himself, in areas where much of the "what about the children?" and "violent media is corrupting our youth" comes from in the first place.

If lobbying groups working on behalf of the video game industry were responsible for this bill's failure, then it's probably more a story of one lobby against another than they'd like it to appear. On the other hand, if the failure was not the result of some lobby, it makes the whole comment that much more of a joke.

Re:This sounds familiar...

[TheLoneDanger]

It isn't that parents are concerned that their kids are "actually performing the murder", because kids will do things like play superheroes or cops and robbers or cowboys and indians. It is that their children are doing so in a way that they don't understand.

EVERY new form of media that appeals to kids has come under attack from confused parents who don't understand it and simply go by what someone else is saying about it, thinking (hoping) that they understand it. For example, when comics were first printed in newspapers, there was an outcry that the mixing of reality and fiction would warp young minds. They wouldn't be able to discern the real from the fictional. Then, superhero comics (not in newspapers but magazine form) were supposed to be the cause of all juvenile delinquency and homosexuality as they became popular. Then music was corrupting our kids, making them devil worshippers. Then movies, then TV as each became more "realistic" and popular.

It's bullshit that people are opposed to it because their kids are active in the violence in a game. Previously, people said that being passive and soaking in violence from the TV was the worst thing we could do to our kids. It's all about parents not understanding their kids and their lives and feeling that something is wrong. There is something wrong. You're not trying to understand or talk to your kids, you're just trying to control their lives through environmental factors. Get to know your own damn kids! Just make sure they are relatively decent people (from their words and actions) and let them live their lives. They will naturally want to have their own space and rebel against you. Every generation wants to differentiate itself from the previous one and the older generation always thinks that there's something wrong with the newer generation.

There has never been a time in history when the older generation didn't think the newer generation were terrible and not quite right and leading us all into destruction. Guess what? Pretty much every generation eventually grows up into people fairly similar to those of the previous generation.

Oh BTW, this isn't an attack on the parent poster, it's more of a general rant against the argument that parents are against videogames because the children are "actively involved in the violence".

Re:This sounds familiar...

[Thing 1]

I completely agree: vote this fuck out of office.

No legislation is "necessary", especially not legislation which overrides the choices a parent should be making.

Laws should require a 90% majority to be passed, not a simple (50%) majority. Then we'd see a lot less "mob rule."

Worthless legislation

[zuikaku]

Quoting from Yee's press release:

"Retailers would have also been responsible for clearly displaying signs explaining the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) ratings system."

Aren't they pretty self-explanatory already?

"In fact, the video game industry's own representative admitted she would not allow her child to play the games that the legislation targeted." (Leland Yee)

That shows that a *parent* already is deciding what to let her kids play. Isn't it supposed to be the parent who has the power to decide? If so, then what useful purpose does the legislation serve? If the legislature is hoping that lazy parents will somehow be "empowered" by the legislation, I think they'll be disappointed by the results. Then again, I suppose they can continue to use parental laziness to justify further legislation.

Another Victory..

[crotherm]

Another Victory for us parents who want to raise our kids without endless regulations and laws. It is my job to make sure my son does not have access to games I think are not suitable for him, not the store. So far this has worked out quite well.

Well done legislators!!

Dear Leland,

[lightspawn]

Don't feel too bad. You can still try to pass off a law restricting access to other types of violent content, like movies or maybe books (remember all that stuff in the bible?).

I wonder if this kind of thing will stop happenning in a few years, when most voters will have grown up with videogames. Or do people lose all sense of freedom when becoming parents?

P.S. It's such a shame money ruled the day. Let's all work together to make sure it never happens again. If it were up to me, I'd just outlaw it outright.

call me odd...

[ptrangerv8]

But am I the only one who finds it funny - i.e.... his choise of words.. "...shot down..." when talking about violent video games...

Maybe if he didn't use such violent language, games wouldn't be violent, and we wouldn't want to try and shoot *him* down....

my opinion only...

Re:Just 7 favorable votes?

[Goldsmith]

As one who is familiar with the California state government committee process, I can say that this is not unusual.

It's not that the legislators are out on the golf course, but rather that on a "committee day," every committee meets. Not only are legislators members of more than one committee (which might meet concurrantly), but they also have to present the bills they are sponsoring to the other committees. In addition, there are the lobbyists, constituents, and other legislators all trying to meet with them to try and convince them in private to vote a certain way.

In short, it is utter chaos, and a miricle that anything gets done at all.

Personally Im glad.. although

[AzraelKans]

This makes it more obvious than the entire move was just a political ad. Im afraid money has won moral today, vote for me anyway! yeah right

Ok muddy issues aside, if you are an actual conscerned parent heres a fact for you: The M rating is the equivalent of the R rating in movies and just like in movies There are a lot of titles that dont really desserve the rating and they are quite a few that actually desserve an stronger rating like A (Nc-18 X Adult only) rating (manhunt, gta3 in some cases , the suffering, doom 3) want to know which one is which? Easy! stick around and watch your kids playing! stablish as a rule that all games must be watched by the entire family (or at least by you), before you decide if is ok for them to play or buy. (if possible rent before you buy) problem solved! Read the manual, watch the game for at least half an hour, if after that theres something you find suspicious (the manual mentions hookers but you havent seen any) ask the store clerk they ussually know which games are really violent and which ones are not. EASY as that! You are the one who provides your kids money for buying games and therefore you are in charge of what they have, not CNN not the government YOU!

What a tool.

[RyoShin]

Rather than protecting our children and giving our parents a tool to help raise healthy kids, the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry was allowed to shoot down necessary legislation."

For someone to be able to use a tool, they must have the knowledge on how it works and what to do with it. Lots of stupid parents still buy their ten year old games like Vice City or Manhunt because the kids beg and the parents say "Ok". I highly doubt this 'tool' would be used effectively (if passed,) it would just make parents bitch that they have to go to a different part of the store to buy their children the 'cool' games.

Re:What a tool.

[NotReallyApathetic]

I hope that the rest of the country never follows California's lead in seeming to need to pass legislation simply to combat perceived stupidity. I lived in that state for 5 years and could not believe the Cattle-Herding mentality that politicians there have. It would appear that every glitch in the social system requires a law to fix it. Social discourse is reduced to the screams of the extremists. The state will take care of you - trust it with your life.

what good will the laws do in the end ?

[Desolate Fate]

Yes kids should not be allowed to play these kinds of games till they are mentally ready to. But laws will not prevent this! Parents will have to. Too may times I have seen parents buy games for their kids that the clerks would not sell them (never mind the question where a 12yr old gets $60us to buy the game) due to their age (store policy for most places I have visited lately).

And I have seen the manager answer the complaints when they return with this: "We sold the game to you, you gave it to your child."

Yes there is a need for responsibility in the industry to regulate itself, but parents need to do their job as well. And their job does include making sure their children's friends are not playing the wrong types of games when they visit (Parents and the community have to work together).

Re:what good will the laws do in the end ?

[MMaestro]

Too may times I have seen parents buy games for their kids that the clerks would not sell them

Thats nothing, I've seenen parents come in and buy M rated games for their kids without even bringing their kids along. Instead they just call their kid on the phone to confirm its the one they want. On top of that even after being warned by the clerk that its a M rated game and not for kids under the age of 17, they shrug it off and buy it anyway.