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Utah Games/Porn Law Fails

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the that-was-quick dept.

Just a few days after it passed the Utah House of Representatives, the 'Games as Porn' law has died in the Utah Senate. Gamepolitics reports: "The Senate, however, never moved the bill out of committee for a floor vote. Dying a quiet death, HB257 has now been thrown on Utah' s legislative scrap heap - at least for the current session. Perhaps the Utah Senate recognized the obvious constitutional concerns surrounding Hogue's bill. As noted by GamePolitics, a pair of well-known First Amendment scholars savaged HB257 in a recent guest editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune."

35 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Score one for Freedom of Speech by tradiuz · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yay! The government works once in a while!

    1. Re:Score one for Freedom of Speech by kannibal_klown · · Score: 1
      Yay! The government works once in a while!
      Either that, or the Video Game Lobbyists have been gaining strength.
    2. Re:Score one for Freedom of Speech by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Yay! The government works once in a while!

      No, they were just afraid that everybody would see how ridiculously incompetent they are. Without press coverage this would have passed for sure.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  2. Phew! by SheeEttin · · Score: 1

    Phew! I'm glad that's over.
    Now, back to my game. *fap fap fap*

  3. Would someone... by osrevad · · Score: 1

    ...please explain what this "games as porn" law was all about?

    1. Re:Would someone... by chrismcdirty · · Score: 1

      Would someone please follow the related links and read them?

      --
      It's like sex, except I'm having it!
    2. Re:Would someone... by Ark42 · · Score: 1

      Look under Related Stories up at the top.

      --
      Morphing Software
    3. Re:Would someone... by Maggott · · Score: 1

      It's quite simple. The House of Representatives in my home state of Utah is composed of people who are authoritarian, fundamentalist, and extremely gullible.

      One day, a mother saw violent images in a video game and was Deeply Distressed [tm]. Interpreting her personal distress at the fictional imagery as being a Sign from The Holy Ghost [tm], she decided that violent video games were Wrong [tm]. She announced to her children that they would Not Have Video Games In Their Home. They, being thinking human beings, asked why. This angered her, but her children didn't accept the logic of "because I'm your mother, that's why!" and subsequently ignored her, playing violent video games anyway--the only difference was that now it was a source of conflict and division, and they had to play them outside the comfort and safety of their own home.

      Now even more distressed at the dangers her children were exposing themselves to (after all, video games are obviously dangerous--why else would the Holy Ghost warn her against them?), she went to her peers and the media to find a justification her children would accept.

      "I bet it makes kids more violent," a retarded person told her.

      Deciding this was why video games were Wrong [tm], she announced to her children that they could not play the games because it would make them violent.

      Her kids, having played video games since they were 5 and never having thrown a punch in their lives, even in self-defense (unlike their football-playing peers), decide she's got the brain capacity of a dung beetle and, instead of abandoning video games, start to wonder if she's as full of crap about other things that are "wrong," such as cocaine and teen sex. Thankfully, they're smarter than she is and realize that while video games are harmless, that doesn't mean that coke and sex are. So they decide against drugs and orgies but keep playing video games.

      Strongly distressed at her children's refusal to obey her unconditionally and now feeling that the destruction of all she holds dear must be imminent, she talks to her peers and writes letters talking about how dangerous video games are and asking "Why nobody is doing anything about this."

      Meanwhile, halfway across the country, there are a number of sweet, innocent children just beginning to awaken into manhood. Not coincidentally, they're being beaten and emotionally abused by their peers every day, being dismissed when they complain about it, and being told they're too stupid and immature to think for themselves when they try to escape or rectify the situation. Deciding it's time to make a point, these sweet, innocent, immature minors decide--having never heard of such a thing before--to take dad's guns to school and blow away every last thing that ever hurt them. All they have to lose is their lives, which they have decided is a fair trade.

      Now the whole world--which, until this point, had been denying there was anything wrong with the schools, the restrictive rules, their children's actual day to day lives or, God Forbid, their own treatment of them--are utterly unable to ignore them anymore. They are presented with the choice--accept that something is actually wrong, or deny that their only daughter has just been shot. The latter is very difficult to accomplish in practical terms.

      So they finally realize something is wrong.

      The problem is, they still need their previous morals, values and beliefs are correct, even in the face of their dead daughter. They must believe that they have been doing the right thing as parents, and as such, the explaination must be something that has nothing to do with how they've been treating their children up to this point.

      The explainations the kids point to are things like massive pressure, constant insult and condescending antagonism by adults, virtually no liberties, and being forced into a culture which emotionally and physically brutalizes them every single day of their lives. They point to the fact that their lives are painful, and

      --
      All Hail the Maggott Show
  4. Ooh... by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 1

    I bet they didn't see that coming in the golden plates.

    1. Re:Ooh... by aw232 · · Score: 1

      Please do not suggest that the the LDS church is the same thing as the Utah State government.

    2. Re:Ooh... by dchooge · · Score: 1

      Please feel free to suggest that the Latter Day Saints Church is the same as the Utah State government for the purposes of making an extremely funny joke.

    3. Re:Ooh... by Bios_Hakr · · Score: 1

      While I doubt everyone in the Utah government is LDS, I'd be willing to bet that a large majority are.

      --
      I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
  5. Remember kids... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Video games and porn doesn't mix. Unless you live in Japan.

    1. Re:Remember kids... by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 1

      That's not mixing, that's called mutally inexclusive

  6. Re:Wow Utah's Looking Good by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 1

    Inbreeding'll do that...

  7. aw.... by smaerd · · Score: 3, Funny

    ....but I wanted to order games from sleazy catalogs and have them delivered to my door in nondescript black boxes.

    I also wanted to see spam in my mailbox saying "Watch NASTY CINDY TAKE the triforce ALL THE WAY to the palace!" and "DIRTY TRISHA CAN'T GET ENOUGH of Mario Brothers!" That'd have been hot! OH well.

    1. Re:aw.... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      In 1986, you do the Mario, in 2006 the Mario... ?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  8. OK, that's it. Fess up. by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Funny
    Two days ago, Utah Votes 'No' to Darwin's Critics.

    Today, Utah Games/Porn Law Fails.

    That's too much common sense to be for real.

    So fess up. Which one of us h4x0r3d the Utah Legislature's vote-counting system? Because it's either that, or we're faced with a bigger problem -- namely who are the aliens who invaded Great Salt Lake, and what did they do with Utah?

  9. Re:Nothing by GmAz · · Score: 1

    People, please quit with this joke, its not funny and a waste of time.

    --
    Click Click Bloody Click PANCAKES!
  10. Re:OK, that's it. Fess up. by FhnuZoag · · Score: 1

    It's simple really. Someone's flooding the place with bad bill proposals, in the hope that at least one will get through....

  11. Re:Most video games are *worse* than porn by Loonacy · · Score: 1

    But I happen to like violence in video games and on TV, and I don't think it should be banned.

  12. Re:Most video games are *worse* than porn by renehollan · · Score: 1
    and what part of TURN YOUR TV OFF doesn't the grandparent understand?

    Oh, I see, he thinks he can force his view of the world on everyone else, by prefixing his desire with "as a parent".

    Lemme try that: "As a parent, I object to the grandparent poster being allowed to live and expose my children to the vile notion that it is all right to force one's opinions on others."

    --
    You could've hired me.
  13. Re:Most video games are *worse* than porn by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As a parent, you have the power to turn off the TV. As a parent, you don't have the right to ban me from watching what you don't want your kid watching.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  14. Yay! by ThinkingInBinary · · Score: 1

    I would like to be one of many to say... yay for common sense! Really. Games are games.

    --
    ttuttle is a rankmaniac
  15. Re:OK, that's it. Fess up. by Kadin2048 · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...and what did they do with Utah?

    Do we care?

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
  16. Re:Most video games are *worse* than porn by XenoRyet · · Score: 2, Insightful
    As a parent, I agree with you, now there are two of us.

    Seriously though, what makes one feel that they are entitled to require the whole world to be coated in a 3 foot layer of nerf, just because their toddler might fall down and bump his knee.

    Parenting is a hard job. The world isn't all kid friendly, but it's your job to keep your kids safe, not the governments, not sociaties, not your neighbors, and certainly not mine. It's your job, quit trying to pawn it off on other people.

    --
    If forums teach us anything, it is that logic and critical thinking should be required courses in the public schools.
  17. Re:OT: Don't reply then by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but that meme rocks. So any excuse to see it again is cool in my book :)

  18. Re:Most video games are *worse* than porn by renehollan · · Score: 1
    Parenting is a hard job. The world isn't all kid friendly, but it's your job to keep your kids safe, not the governments, not sociaties, not your neighbors, and certainly not mine. It's your job, quit trying to pawn it off on other people.

    I'm not sure whether you are agreeing with me, or arguing with me.

    One counter to parenting not being the government's job is that government has impeeded the paraent's ability to parent. When little Johnny learns that all he has to do is call the school-supplied state "abuse" hotline and say he is "scared of Daddy" because Daddy insistes Johnny finish his homework before watching TV, something is amis. And, if Daddy has raised Johnney to be smart, it won't be long before Johnny learns to "work the system".

    In such a situtation, I muse about raising my kids to be the best damn serial psychopathic killers I can, and let them lose on the society that restrained my ability to exert discipline.

    --
    You could've hired me.
  19. s/lose/loose/ by renehollan · · Score: 1

    ... for all the grammar nazis out there: it was a typographical, not grammatical, error on my part.

    --
    You could've hired me.
  20. Re:No duh by Adriax · · Score: 1

    I hope they atleast bought it a drink first...

    --
    I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
  21. Re:OK, that's it. Fess up. by Merlyn_3k · · Score: 1

    (Obligatory)

    I for one welcome our new sensible alien overlords.

    Now if only they would get around to the rest of the country, we might be able to turn this fiasco called the 21st Century around.

  22. Well then you should... by Big_Al_B · · Score: 1

    s/impeeded/impeded/
    s/paraent/parent/
    s/insistes/insists/
    s/amis/amiss/
    s/Johnney/Johnny/ (-- to be consistent)
    s/damn/damned/

    Not trying to pick, but since you brought it up...

    1. Re:Well then you should... by renehollan · · Score: 1

      lesse: s/impeeded/impeded/ - spelling, my bad s/paraent/parent - typo, my bad s/insistes/insists/ - typo, my bad s/amis/amiss/ - typo, my bad s/Johnney/Johnny/ - typo, my bad (thought I caught them all, though) s/damn/damned/ - coloquailism: I'm using damn as an adjective, not a verb. I plead haste as far as the typos go, but the spelling mistake I'll accept.

      --
      You could've hired me.
    2. Re:Well then you should... by Big_Al_B · · Score: 1

      Just thought I'd rib you a bit...hope you took no offense. :)

    3. Re:Well then you should... by renehollan · · Score: 1

      Nah :-) Besides, I've got a fairly thick skin.

      --
      You could've hired me.