With a legislative wave targeting video game sales to minors sweeping the country, GamePolitics believes it is a good time to stop, take a deep breath, and ask some tough questions. The common wisdom, at least among politicians and video game critics, is that younger gamers can easily get their hands on adult-themed games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Consider just a few news items that GamePolitics was able to quickly round up this morning. They are representative of the type of commentary appearing in the mainstream media on an almost daily basis:

ITEM: T.V. station WILX-10 in Lansing, Michigan is running a piece titled, "Should Adult Rated Video Games Be Sold to Minors?" Hmmm...let me think about that one....should adult rated games be sold to children...hmmm. GamePolitics has a better question: should media outlets be spanked for sensationalizing headlines? Yes!

ITEM: Democratic California Assemblyman Leland Yee, sponsor of pending legislation that would restrict sales of adult-themed video games to minors, has posted a press release that reads, in part:

"For the same reason we don't allow kids to buy pornography, cigarettes, and alcohol, we shouldn't allow them to go to stores and buy video games that teach them to do the very things we put people in jail for - abusing women, joining street gangs, killing police officers, or even assassinating President Kennedy"

ITEM: In Illinois, Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich is spearheading legislation to restrict sales of adult-themed games to minors. A press release issued by Gov. Blagojevich's office reads in part:

"Right now, children can easily get their hands on NARC, and other games just like it. The Safe Games legislation would give parents the tools they need to protect their children from games like NARC, and I strongly urge the Senate to help turn this commonsense bill into law."

But can children really buy games rated "M" (17 and older) and "AO" (adults only)?

Disregard the AO games, since there are almost no such games on the market and virtually 100% of retailers wouldn't carry them even if there were. M-rated games on the other hand, are fairly commonplace. Although there have been some experiments conducted showing minors were able to buy M-rated content, the industry has undergone a major push in recent years aimed at voluntary compliance. The ESRB ratings have been a huge help to parents. Speaking anecdotally, it has been the observation of GamePolitics that store clerks are conducting age checks. In fact, at the GameStop that GamePolitics frequents, clerks not only won't sell to minors, but actively explain to parents the type of content that secured the game an M rating. Invariably, the parents buy the game anyway. It seems pretty clear this is a corporate policy. And by the way, GameStop now owns more than 20% of the video game retail market (thanks to its recent merger with Electronics Boutique). What's more, the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, the trade group representing video game retailers, has established carding and signage programs designed to enforce compliance with game ratings.

Will there be the occasional kid slipping through the cracks? Sure. But by and large, GamePolitics holds that parents are buying M-rated content for their kids. And that's not something that legislation is going to fix.