Illinois Gov. to kids-- No GTA for you

D

DrLazy

Member
"Decrying violence in fast-selling video games, Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) wants Illinois to make it illegal for anyone younger than 18 to buy violent or sexually explicit games. Among the targets would be the Grand Theft Auto series, Halo 2 and Mortal Kombat. "

The Washington Post

Already been posted? I ran a search and found nothing. I think it's a good idea personally. I've seen too many damn 12 year olds playing Halo and GTA lately, and they're all little shits too.
 
i agree that no one 17 or younger should be playing M-rated games and i think they really need to be a lot stricter with retailers about selling games to minors than they already are, but really its all up to the parents. parents need to either be more informed or just be more aware.

they should put bigger warnings on boxes, SOMETHING to get more parents aware because the parents obviously arent doing it themselves. i bet if parents knew half the stuff that went on in some games they wouldnt have bought it for their child.
 
I don't like to tell other people what products they can and can't buy when the products are as harmless as a video game. Its not like they're buying a gun with which other people may be injured or killed... That's a dumb argument. I'll shut up now.
 
I agree with both your points, though I think the problem with the argument that it's the parent's responsiblity is that Parents are soooo ignorant about videogames. They don't realize the shit they're buying their kids.
 
something has to be done. the esrb rating system is good and a fair amount of parents use that system but its just not good enough. i mean an M for halo is NOT the same M for a GTA game. you'd be suprised how many mom's and dad's come into work with a christmas list and ask for GTA:SA. i bet if they knew what actually happened in the game or what their child would be hearing, seeing, and doing in the game they wouldnt even think about buying it.

im all for freedom of speech, freedom in games, and all that stuff. but theres just no justifying kids shooting police in the face, killing random people in the streets or whatever.

i dont mind GTA as a game one bit, but it does bother me that kids are playing it.
 
While I'm a staunch believer in free speech, it is sad the way murderers are glorified in games like GTA, and in many other forms of media. And while I like to believe people are smarter, it seems like it has a negative impact on society.

Though I still don't think banning it is right way to go.
 
There really needs to be a unified rating system for content. There's ratings for movies, tv, games, and warning labels for music, but they'll all different. i'm not giving parents a free pass to not to notice what they're kids are doing, but i could see how it would be difficult to follow what's generally suitable for kids and what's not.
 
In Canada, quite a few provinces have already passed laws outlawing the sale of M rated titles to customers under 18. No big deal, it's the way it should be. Parents can still make uninformed buying decisions and give GTA to their 11 year old, but the 11 year old can't buy it themselves.

What's interesting is that a mom cannot sanction her underage child to enter into a movie theatre showing an R rated film. Not allowed in, even with mommy or daddy. It's interesting how in the case of film, children can't view the content in theatres even when the parents want to bring them along.

Really, M rated content should not be seen by underage children.
 
The ESRB rating system is fine, all they need to do is ENFORCE it by punishing stores that sell or rent "M" rated games to kids with large fines. If parents buy it for their kids-- fine, that's their perogative. But the very fact that the kids have to ask their parents will provide for more discussion.
 
lockii said:
I don't see what the problem is. Movies have ratings that are enforced, why not games?
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The difference is that this Governor wants to make selling M-rated games to minors illegal. The MPAA movie ratings are only guidelines, not law.
 
I think GTA should be rated AO, with the lang. such as motherfucker, and violence, and sexual themes, etc..
 
I don't see how it being illegal is a problem. It's illegal to sell alcohol and cigarettes to minors, why not games, and for that matter, movies?

It's not infringing on anyone's rights. R rated content absolutely should not be made readily and easily available for minors.
 
Gaia Theory said:
I don't see how it being illegal is a problem. It's illegal to sell alcohol and cigarettes to minors, why not games, and for that matter, movies?

It's not infringing on anyone's rights. R rated content absolutely should not be made readily and easily available for minors.
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I guess I'm just an old fashioned Libertarian when it comes to issues like this. It's an issue of personal responsibility. Parents should know what their children are playing or watching. It is ultimately the parent who is responsible for the child's well-being, not the state.

I agree with guidelines which help parents decide what content is suitable for their kids. I completely disagree with making guidelines law.
 
The law requiring you to be 18 or over certainly doesn't restrict a parents' ability to be more proactive with their childrens content choices, it just means little boys and girls can't get their hands on material that could contain nudity and offensive material - like adult magazines.

I don't think that the state has any place in the raising of families, but it should protect minors from access to content deemed unsuitable. Let the parent, who is the only one of legal age make the decision to purchase it or not for their child. That's what it being law does. Works right?
 
^^^

Making it law will make it the parent's choice as it removes the child from the opportunity to purchase an M-rated game. The parent would be REQUIRED to acknowledge what the child is buying. It's is not perfect, but it is better than the current system.
 
They need to lower the age for M games. 17+ is just ridiculous. You can drive but you can't play a videogame? That makes no sense. It should be 14 or something.
 
Gaia Theory said:
I don't see how it being illegal is a problem. It's illegal to sell alcohol and cigarettes to minors, why not games, and for that matter, movies?
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Alcohol and tobacco are physically harmful for kids, with games it's a more intangible effect. Not the same.

Stores, rental outlets, web retailers, and more would be subject to a whole new area of prosecution if selling M-rated games to minors was illegal. There would be a ton of lawsuits and criminal charges against store owners and maybe even cashiers themselves.

As it is now, even Blockbuster lets minors rent R-rated movies with a parent's consent form on file. Kids can attend R-rated movies in theaters when accompanied by a parent. In my opinion, that's the way it should be--suggestive guidelines informing a parent's choice, not a hard law.
 
Anyanka said:
They need to lower the age for M games. 17+ is just ridiculous. You can drive but you can't play a videogame? That makes no sense. It should be 14 or something.
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At 14, parents can still easily point the finger of blame elsewhere if little Johnny goes into Central High School with guns a-blazin'.

"It was those damned games. It's not Johnny's fault." (Even though we all know that it was little Johnny that pulled the trigger.)

At 17, where in at least a few states criminals can be tried as adults and the "I'm just a kid and it was all the games I played" defense is weaker, it makes more sense to make these controversial-content games available to play.

If you want to argue 16, at least there are picture IDs for some 16 year-olds in some states. If you're "responsible" enough to drive a car (and the word "responsible" is used very loosely here), I suppose you're "responsible" enough to play an "M"-rated game.

Personally, I'd like to see release forms signed by whichever parent or guardian who buys these games, stating that they accept full responsibility for the child's actions by buying the game for an underage youth. FORCE responsibility on the parents if they won't take it willingly.
 
Teddman said:
Alcohol and tobacco are physically harmful for kids, with games it's a more intangible effect. Not the same.

Stores, rental outlets, web retailers, and more would be subject to a whole new area of prosecution if selling M-rated games to minors was illegal. There would be a ton of lawsuits and criminal charges against store owners and maybe even cashiers themselves.

As it is now, even Blockbuster lets minors rent R-rated movies with a parent's consent form on file. Kids can attend R-rated movies in theaters when accompanied by a parent. In my opinion, that's the way it should be--suggestive guidelines informing a parent's choice, not a hard law.
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My issue with this is that nobody wants to take any responsibility here. It's not the parents' problem. It's not the retailers' problem. It's certainly not the minor's problem (which is the large problem here... lack of personal accountability in this God-forsaken country). So what, then? We continue to hear about how games are the scourge of the planet and they do nothing but rot little Johnny's brain until the big bad Government steps up to the plate and does something rash.

You know what? How hard is it, really, for retailers to demand ID in every situation? Having done several gaming retail tours of duty since 1998, I can tell you that it doesn't take long. Retail employees don't want to do it because it's a hassle. They don't want to do it because parents just complain and demand the damned game half the time, not caring one iota about the ratings or controversial content (until it's too late and Johnny has dismembered his homeroom teacher). Just take the extra 30 seconds, ask for the ID, and if they don't comply, no game. Period. "Corporate policy, ma'am."

I don't like where things might go if nobody steps up to the plate here. Lieberman is just itching at the chance to be a hero.
 
its definitely the parents problem. and i think the esrb needs to step up and inform parents more and do more to let parents know what is in a game. it shouldnt come to this point but it has, and its the parents to blame.

i mean who do you think the parents are going to, to get informed about the games? their kids.
 
This evening I sold both BMX XXX and GTA San Andreas to parents with 10-12 year old kids. In all instances I pointed out the back of the packaging.. the warnings about nudity, strong sexual content, explicity language, drug use, excessive violence, etc. I said the game wasn't made for kids, you watch DVD videos of strippers stripping, or stalk and kill police officers and hookers. In every single instance, the parents shrugged it off after some pestering from their kids and went ahead and bought the game.
 
lockii said:
I don't see what the problem is. Movies have ratings that are enforced, why not games?
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That is what I have been saying for years now. Why is it that the ratings are not enforced by law? That seems logical to me. But then again, I was at EB last week and a mother was buying GTA:SA for her son who looked to be about 8. The manager was telling her that the game is Mature, not for kids. But she bought it anyway. Some parents just don't give a fuck.
 
I think it would help if stores tried to make parents more knowledgeable about the ESRB ratings. But laws like this are a terrible idea. If the government tries to act in loco parentis as the arbiter of what is and isn't "appropriate" for minors to see, that's censorship.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that MPAA ratings are only enforced voluntarily by theaters. I have no problem if stores decide to stop selling M-rated games to minors. I just don't think the government shoould be forcing them to do it.
 
There have been laws attempted with the intent of making it illegal for children to buy violent games (and a somewhat related case that have attempted to make it illegal for children to play violent games in arcades) before. The two I am familiar with were both eventually struck down by the courts. I doubt there will be a different result here.
 
See the problem is, how can you enforce it? I mean if a kid goes into an EB or a Gamestop or Funcoland, and there is some kid working there, who is making $6hr, what does he care if he sells the game or not? I mean at the movies, u cant get an R ticket if you are under 17, but I am sure that doesnt always happen. Unfortunately all these politicians and shit ass Gov't groups (ie FCC) will keep pushing and pushing, until they figure out that the only way to protect kids is to make the game completely illegal or something radical like that. I mean it wont happen, but I am sure it is on their minds.

I mean not to get off topic, but look at the FCC and NBC with the Olympics. NBC aired an EDITED version of the Olympic games where there were men in rubber pants that made them look like anatomically correct Greek athletes when the Olympics were done in the nude, and because 9, cout them, 9 fucking jerkoffs saw pictures of these guys, they made complaints to the FCC and now NBC is being investigated. Its fucking crazy
 
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