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Illinois Senate OKs Violent Games Bill

Posted by Zonk on from the yipee dept.

The Illinois senate has approved the violent games bill proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The bill was also passed by the House, but the Senate stripped the possibility of jail time out of the wording before approving it. The House must now reconsider the bill before it can be passed into law. From the article: "The sponsor, Sen. Deanna Demuzio, denied the measure would interfere with free speech rights.'Video games are not art or media,' she said. 'They are simulations, not all that different from the simulations used by the U.S. military in preparation for war.' Apparently I have been misinformed as to what exactly I've been doing for the last twenty-odd years. Thank you, Illinois Senate, for correcting my error.

4 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Not art? by Datamonstar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How can they say that it's not art? What about pen and paper, then? It has it's roots in war simulations from way back when video wasn't feasable. Are books about war simulations, since they recreate the war as a visual image in our heads? The question I want answered now is what should and shouldn't be considered art, if practically everything can be considered a simulation by someone's standards?

    --
    The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
  2. So what does that make my Nintendo? by Mr.Dippy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean that I was simulating goomba smashing and princess rescuing all this time?

    --


    -Dipster
  3. Not Art or Media? by blighter · · Score: 5, Insightful
    That ranks right up there on my personal list of "dumbest things I've ever heard".

    Let's float some other equally meaningful statements, for comparison's sake:

    Books aren't art or media, they are written possible scenarios not all that different from the contingency plans that the military develops about for possible war scenarios.

    Movies aren't art or media, they're a visual communications mechanism not all that different from training videos that the military develops to hone soldiers' skills.

    Photographs aren't art or media, they're a visual representation of reality not all that different from the arial targetting shots the military uses in bombing campaigns.

    This is actually kind of fun, maybe someday I'll get elected to something and can use this kind of bizarre hyperbole to compare things I don't appreciate or understand to the military.
  4. Don't like it? by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 5, Informative

    Let her know how you feel demuzio@senatedem.state.il.us I know I am.

    -Diomedes