Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Gov. Henry bans video violence
By Nathan Winfrey
The Vista (U. Central Oklahoma)
06/30/2006

(U-WIRE) EDMOND, Okla. — Governor Brad Henry signed House bill 3004 into law June 9, labeling violent video games as harmful to minors and outlawing their sale to underage gamers, to take effect Nov. 1.

Authored by Rep. Fred Morgan (R) and Sen. Glenn Coffee (R), HB 3004 conflicts with the rating and restriction system already set in place by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which bans the sale of "Mature" or "Adults Only" rated games to anyone under the age of 17. However, the present system does not bring legal action against those who do not observe the restrictions.

Under the new law, any game retailer that sells a "Mature" rated game to an unmarried person under the age of 18 can be fined up to $500 and be charged with a misdemeanor, said Gregory Treat, Morgan's campaign manager.

Treat said retailers are still selling these games to minors, and that was what inspired the new law.

"The violence in video games has grown to epic proportions," Henry said in an official press release. "Some video games glorify violence to a degree seldom seen in even the bloodiest movies. While parents have the ultimate responsibility for what their children do and see, this legislation is another tool to ensure that our young people are not saturated in violence. This gives parents power to more closely regulate which games their children play."

"Basically, the mature content video games are what this would pertain to," Treat said. "It's setting an agreed upon community standard much like you would on pornography."

Heading three, section A of the HB 3004 states "the average person eighteen (18) years of age or older applying contemporary community standards would find that the interactive video game or computer software is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors."

In a statement posted on GamesSpy.com, Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association, wrote, "The ESA is deeply disappointed by the actions of the Oklahoma Legislature. We believe HB 3004 will restrict the First Amendment rights of Oklahoma's citizens, and intend to file suit in the Oklahoma federal district court shortly, asking that the state's new video game law be overturned."

Information posted on entertainment Web site IGN.com stated that Oklahoma follows several other states, including Illinois, Washington and Michigan, who have tried to legislate the sale of violent video games, nearly all of which have been overruled after legal battles or are still under contest.

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