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Clinton Files Game Legislation
GamePolitics is reporting that Senator Clinton has formally filed game legislation. The bill, likely not to be discussed until the Senate returns from Holiday break, is co-sponsored by Senator Lieberman. From the article: "The Senators emphasized that their legislation will put teeth in the enforcement of video game ratings, helping parents protect their children from inappropriate content. They were joined in making the announcement by April DeLaney, Director of the Washington Office for Common Sense Media; Norman Rosenberg, President and CEO of Parents Action for Children and Dr. Michael Rich, Director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital in Boston and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, in a show of support for the legislation.
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This has nothing to do with the children. It has everything to do with the 2008 Presidential election. 'Nough said.
We HAVE laws that specify which games can and cannot be sold to minors.
No, we don't, at least not federally (states may try but will probably be shut down by the state or federal courts). Just like we don't have laws that enforce the rating for movies. These are guildlines that are pushed down from controlling bodies within each industry.
You can't get arrested for letting a 12 year-old into an R-rated movie. There might be sanctions from the MPAA on the movie theater but frankly I've never heard of this happenning and I was never warned about it when I worked in one when I was in high school (10 years ago). Although I have common sense to follow guildlines but I did work with people who didn't care.
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
I have said this before, but I will say it again....
While I agree that it is the role of government to protect its citzens, it is not the role of government to dictate or legislate morality or what is or is not appropriate for my children. The burden of responsibility rests exclusively with parents, not with day care, teachers (who many have turned to to handle their children out of incompotence, frustration or laziness), companies (vote with your wallet if you do not like their product) or the senate (which religious instutions have come to recognize as a cheap and easy police force, it is easier and cheaper than putting butts in pews and does not require consent). It is job of parents to decide what is or what is not appropriate for their children. Having children is a protected right, if you can have a kid without a permit, license, examination or qualification or demonstrated financial stability, then it sure as heck is not the responsiblity of the same government to raise them for you. It is not your T.V.'s, XBox's or teacher's job to raise them either.
Raising kids is work, it requires time, you may be tired, want to do something else, but you wanted or have kids for whatever reason good or bad, tough luck. Now you are parent. Now you have to guide them, educate them, and punish them. It is work and you do NOT get paid to do it. As I stated previously, I am an adult gamer and soon to be father, I am a big game fan. I like a lot of games in the FPS catagory which are typically classified as violent. It is my job to decide if and when my child will be granted access to such material until they achieve legal age to make such determinations for themselves. It is my job to be interested in my child's activities, to notice that they are despondent, angry or frustrated and about do something stupid. It is MY job to help them, guide them, and punish them.
That, said, I want to know who would honestly believes that a child could make/modify a sawed-off shotgun in their garage/basement/room if the parent exercised due diligence. You do not do that quietly. It is not something you are assigned in metal shop. I am definitely not going to ask or even expect the $6.25/hour idiot behind the counter the local EBgames to do it for me either. It is my job to make sure that inapporpriate (which I define and decide upon) does not get in the house, the computer, etc. Take five minutes to walk through kid's room, even if you work two shifts at night. That said, kids do not NEED a computer, they want them, them make work easier. For good reason, it makes homework easier (I do not need to learn to spell or use proper grammar, that is what Word is for). I still own and use a working typerwriter (they still make them) and so will my kids. Some tools BREED laziness. Sometimes it is important to learn how to proof read and use a dictionary (spell checker) the old fashioned analogue way.
Parents may deem content inappropriate for what ever reasons they like, but that does not mean that others are obliged to protect their children from such "evils" if they do not deem it similarly inappropriate. For example, some christian organizations treat Harry Potter as evil for its depictions of magic, etc. That may not be the opinion of another parent, it is not mine. It therefore precludes successful legislation of any kind. It may be necessary to create a rating system, but it is a guide, NOT a rule. I may choose to adhere to it or not. I may choose to take my child to an R rated movie or play a FPS shooter at the age I deem appropriately.
The computer game industry would be smart to buckle down and create a rigid and reasonable rating system. It should enforce it, it should guarantee the guide's integrity and should punish its own when they break it. I think the industry should be embarrased by the GTA fiasco, does that make GTA or Rockstar bad no. If the industry wants to regulate itself, it should grant the regulators the right to impose fines, damages, punative or othe
I'm still confused as hell at what went wrong here. The ESRB rated the game based on the content that was playable. "Hot Coffee" is not part of that content since you can't get to it without intentionally hacking the code. It's like complaining to your cable company that you can see the Playboy channel on your home cable system if you install a 3rd party descrambler and enter a code. WTF?
Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!