Oklahoma Game Bill Passes House Vote Unanimously

"Killing police officers. Carjacking. Picking up prostitutes, stealing their money, murdering them. Being rewarded with topless strippers. This is a sample of what Oklahoma's children are bombarded with from a number of popular video games."

Thus begins a press release issued by Oklahoma State Rep. Fred Morgan (R), trumpeting unanimous House passage of HB3004, video game legislation he proposed.

"I think there are grandparents and parents that have no idea what's in these games and I think that's a shame," Morgan said. "The industry has successfully challenged every law passed by local or state government but because citizens are continuing to demand that something be done, legislatures continue to try to find reasonable and constitutional ways to restrict access to these extremely violent, sexist and graphic games. The growing body of research shows that these games are harmful to impressionable children."

According to Morgan's press release, HB3004 "expands the definition of 'harmful to minors' to include the inappropriate violence often found in some of today's most popular video games. This includes violence that is glamorized or gratuitous, endorses or glorifies torture, and does not show the consequences of violence. It also includes video games that may depict lead characters freely resorting to violence without thought to the consequences."

Under Morgan's bill, retailers who sell violent games to minors could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000.00. The measure will now move on to the Oklahoma Senate for consideration.