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Indiana Tries to Pass Game Law Again
phaedo00 writes "Ars Technica has posted their take on Indiana's newest attempt at passing a game law that seeks to restrict the sale of violent video games. This, despite that fact that similar legislation has a track record of failing in every state it has been proposed in. From the article: 'The state capitol, Indianapolis, was one of the first cities in the nation to try and strike out at violent video games, first going after arcades and other entertainment vendors back in 2000. The quest ended up where they all do: in front of a judge, and left for dead. Now that California, Illinois, and Michigan have all suffered astounding defeats in their attempts to address PC and console game sales, Indiana wants to join the ranks of the failures.'"
You do realize that the Army has a video game out with the specific intention of recruiting people for service?
(lol, like a video game could really prepare you for sweating to death inside an APC...)
What violent games did Hitler play? What awesome game did Ghandi play? What's in Kim Jong ils PS2 right now you think?
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They can be impeached; they're violating their oath to the Federal Constitution, and often to their respective State Constitution as well.
The problem is, impeachment is done by the legislature. They're not going to pass a law and then vote themselves out of office for passing the law.
Yep, same state and city. Catherine MacKinnon tried to frame it as a civil rights violation, and Indianapolis passed it as a law, but the Seventh Circuit Court threw it out in American Booksellers Association, Inc. v. Hudnut.
Then why not get rid of the drinking age laws? Parents can watch their kids to make sure they don't drink.
Great idea. Glad to see an American who isn't afraid to follow in the footsteps of most of the rest of the first world.
My parents knew I smoked pot and also that I drank alcohol every Friday and Saturday from 10th grade on. I also had very little restrictions, no curfew, no real set time to be home if I came home at all, I drove the family car all the time without my license, and I also had VHS porn and mags all around my room and basement. I even had a 1/2 barrel for my 15th birthday in my house with my parents home and my mom covered for us when the cops came. For a time during late 10th grade and early 11th, my grades started to slip because I was missing a lot of school. I had to make a decision for myself, either drop the advanced courses, not make it through high school, or buckle down. I buckled down on my school work and made it with ease (although I kept up the pot and drinking on the weekends).
Fast forward 15 years. I drink maybe 3 times a year and have not touched drugs since high school. I had 10 successful years in the military and I worked my way up to a network engineer making about 100k at my current job.
My parents let me have some freedom and I abused it, I learned from my mistakes and turned myself around. This is while I was 15-16. Everyone is different but sheltering is NOT the best way to bring up a child.
My best friend during these same times? Dad a doctor, church every Sunday, big family etc., Went to catholic schools, did not drink and never took risks, always had to be home earlier then the rest of us blah blah blah. He dropped out of college his parents were paying for, was bouncing around at mimimum wage jobs and spent 10 years in jail for drug trafficing.
Correct my spelling if you desire. I have no desire to make this post perfect for those that are anal about that.
Video games, from the days we were destroying 'aliens' in games like "Space Invaders", or enemy helicopters in old school games like "*M.A.S.H*", destroying living organisms in the game of "Centipede" or what have you, would be the kind of arguments that all lawyers would love to make money on contesting cases against the Plaintiffs who *might* have indulged into those games at a younger age.
I tend to think that violent games, while they may provide ideas of the 'real' or 'imaginary' world others have seen, they still do not define the person that experiences them. That is usually the reward/punishment system that is supposed to be provided. Their reward was probably the game system on which they were given to play the game, but where did the 'punishment' come in? Perhaps the parents should be aware to that.
If the game industry is actually supposed to be the source of punishment as well, maybe a game system that refuses to turn on for a specific amount of time after a player did something "too violent" would be in order, but I'm not sure I see that happening in the near future.
Parents need to realize that the television and the game console is not a babysitter; their children need to be raised by responsible parents.
The legislature here in Oregon has tried to pass a sales tax NINE times. You'd think they'd get the hint after the first three or four, wouldn't you? But no: any special interest group with enough money (in this case, transplanted Californians who think the lack of a sales tax is a sign of barbarism) can get this sort of shit sponsored over and over and over again.
It's non-stop. They think they'll eventually be able to wear you down enough to vote for them, or at the very least not vote against them. The only thing you can do, really, is to shoot them down at the polls every time they raise their ugly mugs.
Max
My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?
A spokesperson said "It is a basic fact that any adult who says someone under the age of 17 can't do something is a fucking fascist bastard and should be hunted down like a dog."
You were being satirical, of course, but you've hit upon a grain of truth: most of the restrictions placed upon young people have no basis in fact. There is no evidence, for example, that choosing to play violent video games or view pornography are harmful to minors - a lot of people have the gut feeling that they are, but go ahead, try to find some actual scientific data to prove it.
There is no evidence that 18 is a better choice for the voting age than 16 or 21, no evidence that 16 is a better choice for the driving age than 14 or 18, and no evidence that 21 is a better choice for the drinking age than 18 or 30. There is no evidence to back up the legal requirements that the President be 35 years old, Senators be 30 years old, and Representatives be 25 years old.
All these restrictions are essentially based on no more than gut feelings, some of them going back hundreds of years. Look at how far medicine, science, and even other areas of the law have evolved since then. Isn't it about time to reconsider where we've drawn the line between "adult" and "child", and the rights and responsibilities associated with them?
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They will fail again and the primary reason being for this is the fact that there is already ratings on the games, supervision of kids is the key to this, not banning kids from buying games. Why do parent's complain when their kids go looking for porn on the net and find some? why was the parent not supervising what they were doing. Why do parent's complain about kids watching violence on tv? same thing, why where they not supervise. It seems the parents are lazy and want the government to do their job for them.
Business Voyeur
So, pick an age and dry your eyes; you'll be past that barrier and looking back soon enough. And I say that with the experience of age ;)
That sounds awfully patronizing; I hope I've only misunderstood you.
I've passed all the age restrictions that matter (I don't plan on running for president anytime soon), and looking back at them, they don't seem any more reasonable than they did when I was on the other side.
They don't directly affect me, but frankly I think it's vile that so many people are willing to look the other way the moment they stop being directly affected. "If I had to put up with it, and I lived through it, then it's good enough for the next generation to put up with too," they say. That is the self-reinforcing nature of age restrictions.
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