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Illinois Passes Explicit Game Law
The law that the Illinois system of government has been tossing around for a while explicitly banning the sale of Mature games to minors has been passed into law. Gamasutra reports: "Like the similar bill proposed by California Senator Leland Yee, the Safe Games Illinois Act would require retailers to use warning labels in addition to the existing ESRB labels, as well as post signs within stores explaining the ESRB rating system. Sale of offending games to minors will earn stores a $1,000 fine on a petty offense, while failure to post explanatory signage will draw a $500 fine for the first three violations and $1,000 for each subsequent count."
I never actually bought any games when I was a minor. I had mom rent them and had a list that she'd buy 2-3 off of during a birthday or Christmas.
I don't think that would be that big off a deal for minors just to ask adults to buy the games for them.
Heck, minors will really be playing these games when they illegalize it like cigs and alochol for minors to use.
But that's my $.02...
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
Fines for (retaliers) selling to underage people in Illinois:
S afetyNetwork-PromotingAlcoholResponsibilityThrough CommunityPartnerships.php
Tobacco: $50 http://www.ilcat.org/lawsumm.htm#stma
Alcohol: $500 http://www.alcoholsafetynetwork.org/state/Alcohol
Video Games: $1000
Yup, that's reasonable.
Here's my favorite word for all those wowsers and Grundys out there:
... ... intended for the prevention of conception or the procuring of abortion'. The law enabled him to go to any post office and inspect mail he suspected might be obscene, and in his lifetime he oversaw the destruction of 160 tons of literature he considered immoral.
u rces/new-comstockery-030210.htm
Comstockery noun [U]
excessive censorship of literature and pictures which are considered obscene or immoral
Background
The term Comstockery derives from one Anthony Comstock (1844-1915). In 1873 Comstock became secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. In the same year he went to Washington to lobby for stronger laws on obscenity, carrying a huge cloth bag full of publications and information on contraception and abortion. He was subsequently empowered to enforce a new law, the Comstock law, which prohibited publications 'of an indecent character' and the mailing of 'any article
From http://www.macmillandictionary.com/essential/reso
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
I'm working at Kmart this summer for some money to buy a car. I don't normally work at the checkout, but I've been called up there when it gets busy (a rarity, but it happens) and I spent my first week there on checkouts to train in on how to use them. No less than 3 times this summer have I seen a kid come up with some product that requires a birthdate, be told this, and promptly just call over their mom and have the parent just tell me that it's ok. None of them even glanced at what the product was (one was an M-rated game, one was a GNR cd, neither of which really mattered, but one was a Motley Crue DVD that looked rather obscene). This level of parenting isn't going to care if there's a sign posted explaining the ratings-they didnt care before, they won't care now.
The Braying and Neighing of Barnyard Animals Follows.
Government will use this as an excuse to squash P2P. After all, it's putting dangerous software and movies in the hands of fragile and impressionable youth.
How is this a troll? This is the very argument for censorship of the music industry and we ended up with Eminem at the top of the charts chanting about his mother.
Movies, music, now games...and kids still beat off at age 14.