gamepolitics: Hillary Introduces Video Game Legislation

Game Politics (

gamepolitics) wrote,
@ 2005-12-16 13:10:00

Entry tags:

evan bayh, fepa, hillary clinton, joe baca, joe lieberman, legislation

Hillary Introduces Video Game Legislation

In a noontime press conference Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) introduced federal legislation designed to protect children from inappropriate video games. Today's move represents the formal filing of the Family Entertainment Protection Act (FEPA) announced by Clinton and Lieberman on November 29th.

GamePolitics has just received a press release from Sen. Clinton's office. It reads, in part:

With just over a week left in the holiday gift shopping season, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh, joined by parents, advocates and experts, introduced legislation designed to prohibit the sale of inappropriate video games to children. In unveiling the bill, the Senators underscored that video game content is getting increasingly violent and sexually explicit, yet young people are able to purchase these games with relative ease and parents are struggling to keep up with being informed about the content.

The Senators emphasized that their legislation will put teeth in the enforcement of video game ratings, helping parents protect their children from inappropriate content. They were joined in making the announcement by April DeLaney, Director of the Washington Office for Common Sense Media; Norman Rosenberg, President and CEO of Parents Action for Children and Dr. Michael Rich, Director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital in Boston and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, in a show of support for the legislation.

"The holiday season is a particularly important time to raise awareness of this issue. Video games are hot holiday items, and there are certainly wonderful games that help our children learn and increase hand and eye coordination. However, there are also games that are just not appropriate for our nation's youth," said Senator Clinton. "This bill will help empower parents by making sure their kids can't walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content."

"The content of many cutting edge games is becoming more and more vivid, violent, and offensive to our most basic values," Lieberman said. "We are not interested in censoring videos meant for adult entertainment but we do want to ensure that these videos are not purchased by minors. Our bill will help accomplish this by imposing fines on those retailers that sell M-rated games to minors, putting purchasing power back in the hands of watchful parents."

"Many parents are being stretched thin trying to provide a good life for their children while protecting them from a coarsening culture,' Senator Bayh said. 'Our legislation will give parents a hand by requiring retailers to abide by the ratings that are meant to keep children from purchasing violent video games."

The full text of the Clinton-Lieberman-Bayh press release is available here, including a summary of FEPA's provisions.

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(211 comments) - (Post a new comment)

	again? jabrwock 2005-12-16 06:25 pm UTC (link)
	Didn't she already do this? Or is this the meat & potatoes part, with all the details? (Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: again?

hilaryduffgta
2005-12-16 06:35 pm UTC (link)

NO this is prolly throwing in a bit more to it and hoping to tweak it so that no m rated games get made that way kids cant buy them and neither can anyone else cause remember "it takes a village to raise a child" which in translation means..."you gamers will help raise these children and make sure only e rated games get made..its a stupid hobby but we need safe games for children"...note that is only my take on translation to that..I prefer "it takes a village to piss me off"

(Reply to this) (Parent)

whoops -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 07:11 pm UTC

all this sounds like is

hilaryduffgta
2005-12-16 06:48 pm UTC (link)

""The holiday season is a particularly important time to raise awareness of this issue. Video games are hot holiday items, and there are certainly wonderful games that help our children learn and increase hand and eye coordination. However, there are also games that are just not appropriate for our nation's youth," said Senator Clinton. "This bill will help empower parents by making sure their kids can't walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content."

"The content of many cutting edge games is becoming more and more vivid, violent, and offensive to our most basic values," Lieberman said. "We are not interested in censoring videos meant for adult entertainment but we do want to ensure that these videos are not purchased by minors. Our bill will help accomplish this by imposing fines on those retailers that sell M-rated games to minors, putting purchasing power back in the hands of watchful parents."

"Many parents are being stretched thin trying to provide a good life for their children while protecting them from a coarsening culture,' Senator Bayh said. 'Our legislation will give parents a hand by requiring retailers to abide by the ratings that are meant to keep children from purchasing violent video games"

To me all this sounds like is this....

Senator "now this game is called grand theft auto This is a very bad game for little billy to have" "now this game is called Barbies horse adventure This is a nice fun game for Little Billy to have"

Parent..*nods their head up and down* ahhh i see..."Wow it is very hard to find a nice game for my child..why its almost as difficult as raising him"

Parents you dont Need the damn goverment telling you what is appropriate for your child....Its very simple DONT BUY A M RATED GAME UNLESS YOUR CHILD IS 17 YEARS OLD..its not that Difficult and here is another idea..when they Yell and cry and complain..Ohhh i dont know how about you do this its a good idea WALK THE HELL OUT OF THE STORE....Jeez for the love of Hilary Duff Even i know what it takes to be a good parent and Here is a news flash..Im 25 and i dont have any children...Its not rocket science its called having a damn brain and using it every now and then....

this was not meant to offend anyone here who is a parent its just once again my take on this whole thing

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: all this sounds like is

konnidor
2005-12-16 07:23 pm UTC (link)

Parents you dont Need the damn goverment telling you what is appropriate for your child....Its very simple DONT BUY A M RATED GAME UNLESS YOUR CHILD IS 17 YEARS OLD..its not that Difficult and here is another idea..when they Yell and cry and complain..Ohhh i dont know how about you do this its a good idea WALK THE HELL OUT OF THE STORE....Jeez for the love of Hilary Duff Even i know what it takes to be a good parent and Here is a news flash..Im 25 and i dont have any children...Its not rocket science its called having a damn brain and using it every now and then....

I think you've missed the point. This legislation doesn't do anything to hinder parents from buying these games for their kids. It keeps the kids themselves from buying the games. I can recall plenty of kids coming into the gamestop I worked at trying to by Manhunt and being able to do so, no questions asked.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: all this sounds like is -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:29 pm UTC

Re: all this sounds like is -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 07:56 pm UTC

Re: all this sounds like is -

konnidor, 2005-12-16 09:28 pm UTC

Re: all this sounds like is -

billboy2000, 2005-12-19 04:12 pm UTC

Re: all this sounds like is -

evilrockstu, 2005-12-17 01:29 pm UTC

Re: all this sounds like is - (Anonymous), 2005-12-17 02:27 pm UTC

drgrumbles
2005-12-16 06:53 pm UTC (link)

"This bill will help empower parents by making sure their kids can't walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content."

"putting purchasing power back in the hands of watchful parents"

a)Are kids really walking into these stores unsupervised? Aren't the parents there when the child decides to buy a game? Leading to my next point...

b)Since when do children have purchasing power?! My purchasing power as a kid was, "hey mom, can I get super mario bros. 3 for my birthday?"

c)If the parents were watchful, this wouldn't be an issue.

d)Way to once again shift responsibility from the parents onto the merchants, you twats.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	antitype 2005-12-16 06:58 pm UTC (link)
	All perfectly valid points. But do they really care? No, they just want those fines. (Reply to this) (Parent)

I can answer that -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:04 pm UTC

Re: I can answer that -

railven_marquis, 2005-12-17 01:01 am UTC

Re: I can answer that -

heimdal00, 2005-12-17 04:51 am UTC

Re: I can answer that -

railven_marquis, 2005-12-17 07:16 am UTC

Re: I can answer that -

heimdal00, 2005-12-17 07:31 pm UTC

Re: I can answer that -

empress_tigress, 2005-12-18 10:10 am UTC

Re: I can answer that -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-18 04:48 pm UTC

(no subject) -

nightwng2000, 2005-12-17 02:49 am UTC

my opinion - (Anonymous), 2005-12-19 10:31 am UTC

Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla!

catch_33
2005-12-16 06:59 pm UTC (link)

In unveiling the bill, the Senators underscored that video game content is getting increasingly violent and sexually explicit, yet young people are able to purchase these games with relative ease and parents are struggling to keep up with being informed about the content.

Relative ease? Hah! Struggling to keep up? Oh cry me a fucking river. My parents were able to keep up with how many Transformers and boxes of LEGOS I had, and I could have hurt myself with some of those Decepticons, and could have practicially drowned in the LEGOS.

"The holiday season is a particularly important time to raise awareness of this issue."

Yes it is, actually.

"Video games are hot holiday items, and there are certainly wonderful games that help our children learn and increase hand and eye coordination."

'Tis true.

"However, there are also games that are just not appropriate for our nation's youth."

Youth? You mean teenagers? Or children? I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and go with "children". And for the love of Samus, will you please acknowledge that the average gamer is 30 years old? Just once.

"This bill will help empower parents by making sure their kids can't walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content."

Actually, no, because then the smarter kids can just get and older friend to buy the game for them. And keeping money out of kid's hands would be a lot more effective. Not to mention, keeping track of what they spend their money on. It's not that hard. Besides, just because your kid managed to acquire a violent game, doesn't mean it's going to zombify him/her almost instantly. If a parent does their job, there shouldn't be any problems.

You're going down Hillary. Trust me. Or else. *makes a mean face*

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! ace_ofspade 2005-12-16 07:01 pm UTC (link)
	Or else. Oh catch_33... If that's your real name, JACK! lol (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:06 pm UTC

Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 07:07 pm UTC

Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:21 pm UTC

Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 07:26 pm UTC

So then without saying it -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:31 pm UTC

Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! -

weiila, 2005-12-16 07:26 pm UTC

Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 07:32 pm UTC

Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! -

weiila, 2005-12-17 04:30 pm UTC

Re: Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go go Godzilla! -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:50 pm UTC

washington post reporter - (Anonymous), 2005-12-16 09:04 pm UTC

Re: washington post reporter -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 09:09 pm UTC

Re: washington post reporter -

kail_murushi, 2005-12-16 11:21 pm UTC

Re: washington post reporter -

catch_33, 2005-12-17 02:58 am UTC

Misses the main problem

jabrwock
2005-12-16 07:09 pm UTC (link)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Misses the main problem

catch_33
2005-12-16 07:15 pm UTC (link)

That bad parents, not paying attention, are 100% not affected by this, so 80% of the purchases will still be made (because they are made by parents), and most of those will still end up in the hands of kids, because the bad parents still didn't read the label...

Exactly. Good job Hillary! Way to show that small percentage of kids buying violent games on their own who's boss!

Money needs to be spent educating bad parents to stop treating videogames/comics/cartoons as kids' toys, and start looking at the ratings themselves.

Unfortunetely, that money's going to have to come from the game industry. The politicians have demonstrated thoroughly that they have no interest in spending money on anything other than pandering for votes.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: Misses the main problem -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:35 pm UTC

	These politicians think they can pick up votes monkeyincorner 2005-12-16 07:11 pm UTC (link)
	Let's see, this legistlation is not going to sway the opinions of many entrenched voters but Clinton has just alienated millions of videogamers who want the government to stay out of dictating our entertainment choices. Good luck running for President, this news will be plastered on every gaming site in 2008. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: These politicians think they can pick up votes chenry 2005-12-16 07:35 pm UTC (link)
	senator clinton as president? pft. she could pass a bill that states whenever i walk outside, naked cheerleaders shower me with praise and i'd still.. no, i'd vote for that. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Tell me another?

keddren
2005-12-16 07:12 pm UTC (link)

"...Our bill will help accomplish this by imposing fines on those retailers that sell M-rated games to minors, putting purchasing power back in the hands of watchful parents."

So they can continue to buy their children the same games. What was that study that showed that 80%+ of violent games were bought for their kids by parents again?

"Many parents are being stretched thin trying to provide a good life for their children while protecting them from a coarsening culture,' Senator Bayh said. 'Our legislation will give parents a hand by requiring retailers to abide by the ratings that are meant to keep children from purchasing violent video games."

Then I fully expect the same legislation to be aimed at movies and television.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Tell me another?
(Anonymous)
2005-12-16 07:33 pm UTC (link)

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Some Lazy Driver here from Neoseeker:

Hilary. Joe. Jack. You represent the hypocracy of America. You would rather put the blame on videogames for raising children wrongly. Instead of focusing on issues that actually will give Ma and Pa more time to care for their children, your giving them less time by brainwashing them into believing your not the problem. Instead of giving a living damn about videogames focus on the issues. Only a fool would buy a game with porno in it. I live in the city of Las Vegas. Here, we have children left and right. Over 500,000 out of the 2,000,000 living in the city are children. Now, they are exposed to some form of nudity everyday on a billboard, those porno cards, the magazine stands (they are free)but you don't see our youth trying to get it. The point is, how about Hil, Joe and Jack trying to better wages and lower hours so our kids aren't emo to begin with. That emo thing annoys the living hell out of me. And I know more codes then Jack Thompson.
<code>
<table style= "border: 5px solid;background-color: #FFE4C4"
<tr>
<td>
<font face="courier" color="#880000" font size= "2">40 miles worth of zig or 1 foot worth of sig'? How about making Jack Thompson look like a idiot.</td></tr></table></font>
<table style= "border: 1px solid;background-color: black">
<tr>
<td>
<font face="tahoma" color="#28BE57" font size= "2">Making Internet Explorers Suffer! So get Firefox! &apos</td></tr>
</table></font>
<table style= "border: 2px solid;background-color: #8B0000">
<tr>
<td><font face="impact" color="#FFB880" font size= "3">Coded in HTML, Style "<font face="comic sans ms" color="orange" font size=3>Fire</font>mocks III" by "Some Lazy Driver": feel free to steal my sig, it's open source except to the person legally known has John Bruce Thompson.&apos</td></font>
</tr>
</table>
</code>

Amazing.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Tell me another? -

chenry, 2005-12-16 07:35 pm UTC

Re: Tell me another? -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 07:42 pm UTC

Remember -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:36 pm UTC

Re: Remember -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 07:43 pm UTC

Re: Remember -

keddren, 2005-12-16 07:58 pm UTC

Re: Remember -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:01 pm UTC

Re: Remember -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 08:15 pm UTC

Re: Remember -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:17 pm UTC

Re: Remember -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 09:14 pm UTC

mandrakegeek
2005-12-16 07:13 pm UTC (link)

can we just leave the pornography out of this stuff? Sheesh... it's not like some kid can walk into EB Games or GameStop and purchase Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude or Playboy: The Mansion...
And if they are saying the whole "hot coffee" thing was porn then they really need to get Cinemax because that was poorly done pornography in GTA:SA. Come on... my 1-year-old nephew could do better than that >_<

*sigh*
and to think I actually read her book too... I was pro-Hillary... then this past year my eyes have seen the glory and it ain't her.

But what is this bill doing besides putting a dollar amount if a retail store sells an M-rated title to someone who is not 17 or older? Tell the parents to do thier job as parents and pay attention to their kids... don't just buy it because "Little Johnny" is throwing a tantrum in the middle of Wal-Mart. Research... research... research...
Oh that's right... we US citizens are too lazy to research anything that can't be seen on the tele in 5 seconds or less... >_<
Lazy bastards...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	of course we cant do research hilaryduffgta 2005-12-16 07:23 pm UTC (link)
	after all Remember ALL VIDEO GAMES WERE AND ARE DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN..Why its been like that ever since nintedo came out and even after nintendo made the playstation...(if a parent ever says that i swear to god im packing my stuff and moving to wherever there is a population of 4 (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: of course we cant do research -

premo_maggot, 2005-12-16 08:49 pm UTC

Re: of course we cant do research - (Anonymous), 2005-12-16 09:27 pm UTC

Re: of course we cant do research -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 09:34 pm UTC

Re: of course we cant do research -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 09:44 pm UTC

Re: of course we cant do research -

kail_murushi, 2005-12-16 11:27 pm UTC

Re: of course we cant do research -

premo_maggot, 2005-12-16 11:50 pm UTC

Say hello to my little friend!

catch_33
2005-12-16 07:24 pm UTC (link)

"The content of many cutting edge games is becoming more and more vivid, violent, and offensive to our most basic values."

Your basic values maybe. Not mine.

"We are not interested in censoring videos meant for adult entertainment but we do want to ensure that these videos are not purchased by minors."

Then why are such bills written in a way that they indirectly influence the content of games?

"Our bill will help accomplish this by imposing fines on those retailers that sell M-rated games to minors, putting purchasing power back in the hands of watchful parents."

It's already in their hands. Where does the money come from? Who pays attention what it's spent on? How do the kids get to the store? And who buys M-rated games most of the time?

"Many parents are being stretched thin trying to provide a good life for their children while protecting them from a coarsening culture."

Boo. Fucking. Hoo. Having kids is a right, a privledge, and a responsibility.

"Our legislation will give parents a hand by requiring retailers to abide by the ratings that are meant to keep children from purchasing violent video games."

But the ratings aren't meant for that. They're meant to inform parents of what it's in the game, so they can determine whether they want their kid[s] playing it or not. Just like with the MPAA ratings.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Say hello to my little friend!

furyfire283
2005-12-16 07:35 pm UTC (link)

Boo. Fucking. Hoo. Having kids is a right, a privledge, and a responsibility.

Acually, if I remember right, Kids dont get many rights until they are considered a adult, which I believe is the age of 16... sadly, my parents used 'that' specific little ditty on me when I was younger after I learned the bill of rights and such stuff in school just to talk back to them.

So, 16 years of age is when the kid gets a choice (Hince, when a parent is divorced, most children cannot decide on who they are going to stay with until that age group.)

Personally, the law is heading in the right direction... just needs a bit more tinkering with. Then as Steve Dallas from Bloom County puts it in Berke Breatheds take on 'porn rock' back in the days in why it was thought to be causing 'crazy stuff' to happen, "I dunno, maybe the proliferation of narrow, suffocating zealotry masquerading as parenting as this country."

Every time I read that quote I am so reminded of this topic.

Bah.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Say hello to my little friend! -

furyfire283, 2005-12-16 07:40 pm UTC

Re: Say hello to my little friend! -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 07:40 pm UTC

Re: Say hello to my little friend! -

bigman_k, 2005-12-16 07:41 pm UTC

Re: Say hello to my little friend! -

furyfire283, 2005-12-16 07:42 pm UTC

Re: Say hello to my little friend! -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:05 pm UTC

Re: Say hello to my little friend! - (Anonymous), 2005-12-17 12:32 am UTC

	Is the ESRB on board with this? (Anonymous) 2005-12-16 07:25 pm UTC (link)
	do they want to have to answer to the government? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Is the ESRB on board with this? jabrwock 2005-12-16 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	No, they already issued a statement saying that legislation isn't the answer. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: Is the ESRB on board with this? -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 07:39 pm UTC

	dot dot dot illspirit 2005-12-16 07:25 pm UTC (link)
	So, yea, Dennis, you should try to get a statement from Running With Scissors. The fact this law won't stop them from selling Postal to whoever they want online could make for an interesting bookend to this news. And I'm sure they'd have something witty (or venemously sarcastic) to say. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: dot dot dot catch_33 2005-12-16 07:31 pm UTC (link)
	It'll be interesting to see what the politicians plan on doing about that, if anything. I could see the amount of titles being sold that way start to climb after awhile. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: dot dot dot -

illspirit, 2005-12-16 07:41 pm UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 07:47 pm UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

illspirit, 2005-12-16 08:08 pm UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 08:16 pm UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:19 pm UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

illspirit, 2005-12-16 09:31 pm UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

godofyouall, 2005-12-16 10:39 pm UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

illspirit, 2005-12-18 11:16 am UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

gamepolitics, 2005-12-17 01:03 pm UTC

Re: dot dot dot -

illspirit, 2005-12-18 11:18 am UTC

	Wait, what? jabrwock 2005-12-16 07:33 pm UTC (link)
	Our bill will help accomplish this by imposing fines on those retailers that sell M-rated games to minors, putting purchasing power back in the hands of watchful parents. Won't watchful parents be aware of what their kids are playing anyway? Or is this wording designed to avoid insulting parents who aren't really paying attention? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Wait, what? catch_33 2005-12-16 07:38 pm UTC (link)
	Won't watchful parents be aware of what their kids are playing anyway? Huh. I didn't catch the "watchful" part, I was too irked by the rating thing. Good point. Or is this wording designed to avoid insulting parents who aren't really paying attention? Bingo! [sarcasm]Only they matter, as most gamers aren't of voting age.[/sarcasm] (Reply to this) (Parent)

	chenry 2005-12-16 07:36 pm UTC (link)
	Director of the Washington Office for Common Sense Media common sense does not belong in someone's title. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	its this simple now hilaryduffgta 2005-12-16 07:40 pm UTC (link)
	Common Sense is an uncommen thing (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: its this simple now -

furyfire283, 2005-12-16 07:41 pm UTC

Re: its this simple now -

bigman_k, 2005-12-16 07:47 pm UTC

Re: its this simple now -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 07:48 pm UTC

(no subject) -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 07:42 pm UTC

Pointless and futile

yukimurasanada
2005-12-16 07:42 pm UTC (link)

Sadly, This amounts to little more then legislative dry humping. Standing law prohibits a private entity rating system from being used as a legal basis. Ironic as it is, Jack was right, this law is unconstituional, and will get butt fucked in court.
Hilary is doing this with the full knowledge that it's gonna fail. Standard case law for 30 years will see to that. This, like very other bill ever proposed, is a failure simply by virtue of it's existance, and will be shot down. When the Supreme court stikes it down, thats it, it's all over, we have the ultimate form of precident, and this bullshit ends.

Whats a more major issue is crap like the bullshit lawsuit out in alabama, beating that is gonna be top priorty.

Hilary is well aware this bill is boned, she knew it from the start. she's just doing this to get votes without pissing off the industry. But hey, anything that makes it impossible for crap like this to happen again, which will be the ultimate result of this legislation being struck down, is fine by me.

What we need is legislation that doesn't allow idiot lawyers to fill pointless lawsuits, and retarded politicans to waste taxpayer money.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Pointless and futile jabrwock 2005-12-16 08:04 pm UTC (link)
	Ironic as it is, Jack was right, this law is unconstituional, and will get butt fucked in court. No, what's ironic is that he was proposing almost the exact same thing to Jeb Bush a few months ago, claiming he was "crafting" it so it would be constitutional. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Pointless and futile -

yukimurasanada, 2005-12-16 08:08 pm UTC

Re: Pointless and futile -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:13 pm UTC

Re: Pointless and futile -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:14 pm UTC

Re: Pointless and futile -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 08:20 pm UTC

Re: Pointless and futile -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 08:12 pm UTC

Re: Pointless and futile -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 08:18 pm UTC

sorakirei
2005-12-16 07:45 pm UTC (link)

Come to think of it, I've never been asked "Are you buying this game for an underage player?" nor have I been carded when purchasing games. If there was going to be anything that they force on retailers, asking who the game is for might be the next step. If a parent says "for my kid" the clerck could check the age and educate the parent on the spot about the ESRB.

A more amusing thought... Maybe people should be required to take a test and receive a licence before they are allowed to purchase games. The universal games licence could be attached to a State Issued ID or be a seperate card. The licence would then remove responsiblity from manufactues/retailers to the people buying the games.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Neither have i

hilaryduffgta
2005-12-16 07:48 pm UTC (link)

and i frequent gamestop and eb games a few times a month to check things out and if its a gamestop or ebgames that knows what they are doing then i chat and get to know the people there...just like i did with the gamestop in riverside when i would buy games when i was living at home last year and they never once asked me if it was for a underage player infact most of the time we would chat about video games the whole time and i've had this same conversation with quite a few of them and they think the same thing its pointless and its a waist of time...

"If a parent says "for my kid" the clerck could check the age and educate the parent on the spot about the ESRB"

that is a good idea but if it was me i wouldnt even make the sale i would ask another clerk to do it or the manager and just inform the customer and the manager that i will not open my self up to a lawsuit over a video game...

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Neither have i -

thefremen, 2005-12-17 12:48 am UTC

Re: Neither have i -

hidenplainsight, 2005-12-18 07:21 pm UTC

Re: Neither have i -

thefremen, 2005-12-18 08:58 pm UTC

(no subject) -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:02 pm UTC

Barcodes! -

heimdal00, 2005-12-17 05:07 am UTC

(no subject) -

jackalandromeda, 2005-12-19 07:00 pm UTC

(no subject) -

jackalandromeda, 2005-12-19 07:03 pm UTC

(no subject) -

catch_33, 2005-12-19 08:12 pm UTC

(no subject) -

catch_33, 2005-12-19 08:09 pm UTC

if someone can answer this real quick i wasnt sure where to put it

hilaryduffgta
2005-12-16 07:45 pm UTC (link)

I was just reading the letter again from Jacky Boy to paul eiber and i noticed something and was hoping someone could answer it for me...here is the quote

"Mr. Eibeler, you and I were even portrayed this year in an episode of NBC's Law and Order: SVU. In that episode your character was asked by the cops investigating video game-rehearsed crimes "Are you aware kids are copycatting your games?" Your character's reply to the cops: "Yeah, I've got lawsuits flying out of my a--." Not yet, Paul, but just wait."

Ok i may have missed a little bit of it like 5 minutes when i was dying from laughter in my den with my roomates after they find the water bottles filled with urine...But i watched the whole thing (it was more mindnumbing then reading out of harm's way) But who portrayed Jack Thompson in their and please Please Please dont tell me he thinks he's david carusso or whoever the head cop was that was a moron...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: if someone can answer this real quick i wasnt sure where to put it jabrwock 2005-12-16 07:58 pm UTC (link)
	Um. Caruso doesn't star in L&O:SVU. He's from CSI:Miami. You've got your shows mixed up. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Too many dam law and order shows -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 08:14 pm UTC

Re: Too many dam law and order shows -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:21 pm UTC

Dear Jerky, Regarding Your Attempt to Mock Thompson - (Anonymous), 2005-12-16 08:43 pm UTC

Re: Dear Jerky, Regarding Your Attempt to Mock Thompson -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:47 pm UTC

Re: Dear Jerky, Regarding Your Attempt to Mock Thompson -

l0que, 2005-12-16 08:48 pm UTC

Yawn i made a mistake so Take me to court -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 08:59 pm UTC

Re: Dear Jerky, Regarding Your Attempt to Mock Thompson -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 09:18 pm UTC

Re: Dear Jerky, Regarding Your Attempt to Mock Thompson -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 09:19 pm UTC

Re: Dear Jerky, Regarding Your Attempt to Mock Thompson - (Anonymous), 2005-12-17 12:36 am UTC

Re: Dear Jerky, Regarding Your Attempt to Mock Thompson -

bustermanzero, 2005-12-17 12:43 am UTC

Re: Dear Jerky, Regarding Your Attempt to Mock Thompson -

illspirit, 2005-12-16 09:28 pm UTC

Nice -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 09:38 pm UTC

HilaryDuffGta Having Fun With Jacky-BOy a.k.a anonymous -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 09:37 pm UTC

Re: HilaryDuffGta Having Fun With Jacky-BOy a.k.a anonymous -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-12-16 11:51 pm UTC

	dreamshade 2005-12-16 07:51 pm UTC (link)
	"...joined by parents, advocates and experts..." Just out of curiosity, parents of whom, advocates of what, and experts on which? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jabrwock 2005-12-16 08:00 pm UTC (link)
	-parents who don't monitor their kids and are easily scared by "doom & gloom" style reporting -advocates of "save the children from anything and everything" -experts on tugging heartstrings and demagogy :P (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

dreamshade, 2005-12-16 08:50 pm UTC

(no subject) -

premo_maggot, 2005-12-16 08:52 pm UTC

this is why i hate poitics - (Anonymous), 2005-12-16 08:01 pm UTC

	if this bill passes (Anonymous) 2005-12-16 08:03 pm UTC (link)
	i expect DC to have a black out because of 10-year old hackers that have nothing better to do because the goverment took away their games. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: if this bill passes catch_33 2005-12-16 08:11 pm UTC (link)
	Same here. If they're right about anything, such an occurence is to be expected. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: if this bill passes -

jabrwock, 2005-12-16 08:11 pm UTC

	What else? chicito21154 2005-12-16 08:20 pm UTC (link)
	Ok, they made their legislation they kept bragging about for almost a year now, what else could Clinton do? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: What else? bustermanzero 2005-12-17 12:45 am UTC (link)
	Well, this pretty much puts them on the fence now, so lets see which way they fall, huh? Towards the sharks, or into the hole where the famously dumb people are located? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Vote? quartermaine 2005-12-16 08:20 pm UTC (link)
	Can someone tell me when the vote will happen? I'm too lazy to read and I've got a bit of a headache at the moment. Also, this shows where our govt. priorities are. We've got the Iraq war going on, we had the Iraqi vote yesterday, we need funding on New Orleans, global warming, and yet we piss away time and money on dumb shit like this. GG congress. (Reply to this)

This bill is a complete, utter failure without basic common sense.
(Anonymous)
2005-12-16 08:40 pm UTC (link)

An older minor who is given an allowance and can go shopping around yard sales, pawn shops, and flea markets with or without their parents can pick up mature games given that who they buy from recognizes and follows the ESRB ratings, and if his/her parents is also the same with ESRB and allows or not their child to have the game(s).

Most people buy their game from retail stores, and then there are people like myself who actually does buy games from non-retail stores. This bill fails to address yard sales, pawn shops, flea markets, and most importantly, the Internet as part of the round up of regulation. I do believe it will be hard to regulate secondary formats as a way to keep mature games out of the hands of minors. Personally, I would perfer the people to do that themselves .

It's completely unfair as to how video games are being mistreated differently from R-rated movies and explicit music just because of "content" and "interaction". Parents need to get hip to the game and take charge in learning about the ESRB and stop being so stupid.

-Honey

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: This bill is a complete, utter failure without basic common sense. chorazin 2005-12-16 09:30 pm UTC (link)
	Hmm...posting Anonymous and then signing your post is wierd! You should sign up for a livejournal, it is free ya know. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

Least of many evils...

getwellgamer
2005-12-16 08:46 pm UTC (link)

I still say this is the best anyone could hope for in terms of game legislation. The major breakdown of the ESRB system is at the point of sale, and anything that makes that enforces that, I see as good. In a way, it even absolves retailers of responsibility after the point of sale, because with the regulation in place, anyone who tries to bitch about "Little Billy's shooting people" will be met with "Why'd you buy the game, then, dumbass? The kid can't buy it himself, so why didn't you look at what you were forking over $50 for?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Least of many evils... jabrwock 2005-12-16 08:50 pm UTC (link)
	I still say this is the best anyone could hope for in terms of game legislation. Except it doesn't do more than score political points, because the other 80% of games bought will still end up in the kids' hands thanks to their parents. Maybe they should focus on the 80% first... (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Least of many evils... -

getwellgamer, 2005-12-16 09:00 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

stormewolfe, 2005-12-16 10:41 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 09:06 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

getwellgamer, 2005-12-16 09:34 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 09:39 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 09:53 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

getwellgamer, 2005-12-16 10:38 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

bigman_k, 2005-12-16 11:01 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

heimdal00, 2005-12-17 05:38 am UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

jackalandromeda, 2005-12-19 07:11 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

mrfalcon, 2005-12-16 11:31 pm UTC

Re: Least of many evils... -

catch_33, 2005-12-17 03:01 am UTC

Taking away freedom

grimm24
2005-12-16 09:04 pm UTC (link)

"This bill will help empower parents by making sure their kids can't walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content."

So apparently taking away human rights is empowering parents?!? Thats um interesting, and since when do games have "pornographic" content, I mean some games have sexually explicit content but, pornographic?!? I cant see anyone getting turned on by the Hot Coffee mod can you?!?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Taking away freedom bustermanzero 2005-12-17 12:46 am UTC (link)
	Kind of encourages your hatred for liberals, doesn't it? Official Liberal Joke by Tom Clancy: What's the difference between a liberal and a conservative? A liberal is a conservative who's been mugged. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: Taking away freedom -

nightwng2000, 2005-12-17 06:24 am UTC

Aquiring games

kharne83
2005-12-16 09:23 pm UTC (link)

Wait a sec... This has me confused now: How are the kids getting to the stores?

I figure that the kids are getting games from malls, outlets, or large stores found off the freeway, right? The thing is those are places you have to drive to. Kids can't drive! Even Jacks precious "Reverse sting operation" required carting his kid around to get to the place. I mean, how is the kid being taken there, and yet the parent isn't around at purchace time? The only thing I can think of is if it's a mall and the parent(s) let they're kids wander or drop them off at the store while they do they're own shopping. If you're letting little billy wander a mall unsupervised, you've got bigger problems than video games!

If it's just a single store like a bust buy, why would only the kid be in there? Shouldn't the parent follow? Or is this some new form of lazy we've just discovered?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Aquiring games catch_33 2005-12-16 09:26 pm UTC (link)
	It's just like the fact that parents are involved with 80% of all purchases of game for children, in that it gets ignored. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: Aquiring games -

mrfalcon, 2005-12-16 10:58 pm UTC

Re: Aquiring games - (Anonymous), 2005-12-17 12:22 am UTC

Re: Aquiring games -

kharne83, 2005-12-17 01:13 am UTC

	Jack Thompson Responds cozycb1984 2005-12-16 09:48 pm UTC (link)
	http://www.gamerandy.com/archives/2005/12/have_we_misjudg.shtml (Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Jack Thompson Responds

bigman_k
2005-12-16 09:58 pm UTC (link)

The Miller test of Obscenity that Jack speaks of deals only with sexually explicit materials not violence. Violent materials in speech can't be found to be obscene for either minors or adults. Previous bills have tried to put violence within the realm of obscenity (at least for minors) and failed miserably including the Indianapolis arcade bill from 4 years back. Jack's idea has already been tried multiple times and failed within the court system.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Jack Thompson Responds -

cozycb1984, 2005-12-16 10:03 pm UTC

Re: Jack Thompson Responds -

bigman_k, 2005-12-16 10:40 pm UTC

Re: Jack Thompson Responds -

cowboybeboper42, 2005-12-16 10:00 pm UTC

Re: Jack Thompson Responds -

catch_33, 2005-12-16 10:07 pm UTC

Re: Jack Thompson Responds -

cowboybeboper42, 2005-12-16 11:01 pm UTC

Re: Jack Thompson Responds -