This week in Arkansas, state Senator Shawn Womack authored a bill that would require shops that rent or sell M-rated games to display them at a height of at least 5 feet from the floor. The bill, introduced on March 3, would allow the Arkansas Department of Public Health to fine vendors up to $500 each time they violate the law.
And three Washington State representatives–Mary Lou Dickerson, Jim McCune and Jim McDermott–have authored a bill that seeks to hold game companies accountable when minors commit violence seemingly inspired by a video game they’ve played.
Their bill cites the “increasingly realistic depictions of violence” in games, particularly torture and sexual assault, as well as the killing of women, people of color and police officers. “These games choreograph violence in a stylized and romanticized way that encourages children and adolescents to associate violence and killing with pleasure, entertainment, feelings of achievement and personal empowerment,” the bill states.
That bill also references studies that correlate the playing of “violent” games with hostile behavior among children and adolescents, arguing that exposure to these games desensitizes young people to real-life violence, perhaps inspiring copycat activity. “Throughout the country, law enforcement officers report that offenders committing violent crimes admit that they are intentionally copying the types of violent acts they play out in video or computer games.”
Read the complete story @ Cnet News
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