Gamer Voices Making Political Impact

Gamers are getting all political, and GP loves it!

We found this well written, extensively detailed letter to the editor in The Advocate (Baton Rouge). We don't know the writer, Jason Seneca, at least not by that name. But he's so smart, he must be a GP reader. Jason, if you're among us, please raise your hand.

Jason takes keyboard in hand to address twin "games as porn" bills under consideration by the Louisiana legislature. GP reported on the bills, introduced by Reps. A.G. Crowe (R) and Roy Burrell (D) a few weeks back. Jason writes, in part:

"I cannot speculate on Reps. Crowe's and Burrell's motivations for introducing such costly and frivolous legislation. Considering Louisiana's recent financial straits, I fail to see how taxpayers could support a motion that is unbalanced, has no basis in fact, will cost several hundred thousand dollars to support and is ultimately destined to fail. I urge our elected officials to employ the intelligence and foresight that their constituencies expect from them."

Impressive, Jason. And he's not the only one. Gamers have been taking advantage of the ESA's Video Game Voters Network to reach their elected officials. GP reader Sherwood42 wrote to Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and got a response:

"Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the Family Entertainment Protection Act. I appreciate hearing from you. In my lifetime, I have watched an increase in gratuitous violence and indecent sexually-explicit material in video games and the media as well as on television and the radio. I believe that some material is simply not appropriate for all audiences."

"As a grandmother, I often worry about what my own grandchildren are exposed to in video games... Federal regulations in this area and all others have developed through balancing two important principles:
protecting the well-being of minors while simultaneously following the constitutional protections afforded under the First Amendment. As legislation, such as (FEPA) is introduced... these will be my guiding principles. Please know that I will keep your particular concerns in mind should the Senate consider this bill."

Now, this was a form letter. GP reader Erik Houk received the same word-for-word response, as did our own GP correspondent, Andrew Eisen. But that's okay. Politicians get lots of mail and they almost always reply generically. Their staffs, however, take careful note of the concerns - and especially the volume of those concersn - expressed by constituents.

GP reader Jerad Hurst wrote to Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), who chaired the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on video games on March 29th. Brownback wrote back, saying:

"Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the regulation of violent content in the media... The availability of information through mass media and the Internet has opened a new set of problems facing parents who find it increasingly difficult to monitor the messages their children receive. Music, movies, and video games have grown increasingly violent. Moreover, there is some evidence to suggest that violent entertainment is actively marketed to young people by the entertainment industry."

"I am asking the parents... to listen to and watch the games, music, and movies to which their children are exposed. But I will also continue to call on entertainment industry executives to help parents, not undermine them, by providing parents with more content information and ending the scandalous practice of target marketing violent, adult-rated entertainment to kids. There are better ways to make money than by glamorizing violence and hate. I am not calling for censorship, but responsibility."