Slashdot Mirror
Illinois Game Law Passes
The Illinois law banning the sale of violent games to minors has passed another milestone. The Illinois House has given the law an okay, meaning both the House and the Senate have passed the law. It now moves on to be signed by the Governor. From the article: "... supporters insisted the government has a duty to help parents shield children from violence and sexuality. 'Don't let them become the monsters that we see in these violent games,' Democratic Rep. Monique Davis said."
The bigger issue is the principle of the thing. Yes, this time it is to stop kids from buying things they probably shouldn't. That said, what part of the first amendment is confusing. Of all the fucking articles of the constitution, I thought the first one was the easiest one to understand and the easiest to follow. Yet some how it has gotten thoroughly mangled over the years. Sure, the US isn't going to be China any time in the near future, but the direction things are heading is unnerving. There is a pile of legal loop holes and exceptions to the first amendment that makes the civil libertarian in me bristle.
To me, I see two options.
1) Let relatively worthless law that is already voluntarily enforced get passed and really is a minimal barrier to a kid getting a hold of a game that is extremely unlikely to do any real damage.
2) Or strike this mother fucker down and make it crystal clear that the first amendment applies to all forms of speech and you can't ignore it when you don't feel like it.
This law is not going to save any lives. No one is going to die because some kid played the same sort of games I played when I was a kid. Further, it isn't going to stop parents from buying this games for their kids, or kids pirating them. What it WILL do is set a precedent that it is okay to flout the first amendment so long as it is for the good of fill in some group here.
No offense, but the first amendment is much more important then paying the fucking cops waste their time acting as baby sitters. Personally, I would rather have the cops chasing down rapist and murders, rather then pissing away my tax dollars doing a parents job and stepping on the first amendment while they are at it. I personally hope that this gets struck down in every single court all the way up to the supreme court, where it can be struck down as an example for all.