Bill Holds Game Makers Liable for Violence
Washington state considers dramatic legislation.
by David Adams
[b]March 2, 2005[/b] - A bill under consideration in Washington state would hold videogame developers accountable for violent acts ostensibly inspired by a particular game.
Currently under review by the state legislature, House Bill 2178 would hold game retailers and manufacturers accountable for “injury or wrongful death” committed by a person under age 17, if the game “was a factor in creating conditions that assisted or encouraged” the perpetrator.
While the bill is still in committee stage and far from becoming law, its dramatic interpretation of criminal responsibility reflects growing concern and controversy about the effects of violent video games.
Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO quotes bill supporter Bill Hanson of the Washington Police and Sheriff’s Association: “If you sit up and watch this and play these games over and over again… it seems that this is alright to walk up and hit a police officer over the head with a bat.”
Needless to say, opponents of the bill point out that it simply shifts blame away from the person who actually commits a crime. Further, the connection between violent videogames and actual violence – the controversy parallels a similar furor over violent films and television – remains tentative at best.
Games sold in the United States carry ESRB rating codes warning parents of potentially objectionable material. Especially violent games are rated “M” for Mature, and are not intended for minors.
Now honestly, when a violent enough video game goes out, it gets an M rating by the ESRB. A minor cannot go and buy that game. If anyone is to blame - besides the kid committing the crime - it’s the person who went and got that game for them. Seriously. This would be like charging a film director for somebody shooting someone after seeing it in an R rated movie they snuck into. Seriously…
Fucking morons. Hey, while they’re at it, why not hold books, movies, tv broadcasts, and all other media liable, too? LET’S JUST HAVE A CENSORING COMMITEE TOTALLY CONFINE ALL CREATIVITY.
I remember reading the book for a class assignment in Jr. High school and i have seen more and more of it coming true over the years-We are on the verge of a Bush’s National Censorship Committee- Any nominations for Chairperson or Director?- Maybe Tom Ridge needs another government job- Director of Homeland Propanganda- sorry… Censorship- however any candidates must be fully familiar with the biography of Joseph Goerbels-
Quick! Get Joe Lieberman on the line…we’ve got a live one! Ah another pathetic attempt to claim video games affect everyone and not just the mentally and logically inept.
Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked
Henry Jenkins
MIT Professor
A large gap exists between the public’s perception of video games and what the research actually shows. The following is an attempt to separate fact from fiction.
1. The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of youth violence.
According to federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low. Researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population. It’s true that young offenders who have committed school shootings in America have also been game players. But young people in general are more likely to be gamers — 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play. The overwhelming majority of kids who play do NOT commit antisocial acts. According to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General’s report, the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure. The moral panic over violent video games is doubly harmful. It has led adult authorities to be more suspicious and hostile to many kids who already feel cut off from the system. It also misdirects energy away from eliminating the actual causes of youth violence and allows problems to continue to fester.
And you can read the rest HERE
Edit: how about this:
Seifer, that was the greatest article ever. Thank you.
Although…
attracted many women who had never played games before.
In your country maybe. There’s like, one female gamer for each five thousand males down in my country ;_;
Yet it’s also important to note that female game characters are often portrayed as powerful and independent
Ehhh… well, it depends on where you are looking. Most of the good ones only manage to pull off a double stance where they are both strong and frail at the same time.
Video games are not a meaningful form of expression.
If I could just make my mother understand this myth. She thinks that every game created has the same depth as Pong.