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Utah Senate, House Pass Jack Thompson's Game Sales Bill
Ars Technica reports that the Utah State Senate and House have both passed Jack Thompson's proposed legislation that would stiffen penalties for the sale of M-rated games to minors. Oddly, on its trip through the state legislature, amendments rendered it largely ineffective; retailers are in the clear if the employee who sold the game goes through a training program, or if the minor misrepresents his age. It's also possible that the bill could cause some retailers to simply take down their ESRB-related advertising. Thompson's statements about the bill put the focus on advertising, but discussion on the Utah Senate floor had a familiar ring, touching on the story of a Grand Theft Auto player who killed two policemen in 2003. The ESRB wrote an open letter in opposition of the bill, saying it could undo the efforts they've made to popularize their rating system. The bill's sponsors fired back, questioning the industry's overall commitment to ratings, and now it awaits only the governor's signature before becoming law.
What the bill is saying is that if a minor wants to buy an 'adult' rated game, they will have to go one step further than simply walking into a shop and buying it. Were I a parent, I wouldn't mind that the child would have to ask me to buy it for him rather than him having access to it directly himself.
Maybe it's safer for you to just stay at home bubble boy.
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Um, this is Utah.
Stop! Mormon time!
But seriously Utah, stop it with the stupid laws.
You can't take the sky from me...
I bike, get your fucking polluting car off the road you are hurting my health with your fumes!