Louisiana Passes Feel Good, Useless Legislation

Vandemar

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Nov 5, 2003
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So Louisiana passed their the press is heartening (and the withering sarcasm is awesome) [http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/288594.html], but this is an entirely uneccesary bill.

If I may quote:

"Why would politicians introduce bills that have little chance of standing up in court, and won't really change anything anyway? In the best light, well-meaning politicians are trying to find that magic bullet to combat a societal ill the public fears is de-sensitizing young minds to violent behavior."

"From a less favorable viewpoint, politicians understand such efforts play well with an alarmed public: video games are the latest scapegoats in a tradition that includes comic books, rock 'n' roll, Pokemon cards and other media likely to tarnish the purity of modern youth.

Louisiana legislators: One of your major cities was nearly destroyed by a huge hurricane. You've got refugees scattered all over the country. I have friends still living in temporary housing, and you probably do, too. You should have better things to do right now than grandstand for doomed legislation.
 

Vandemar

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Original Comment by: Bob_Arctor

I don't get it. Are they just saying selling 18 or M games to people under that age is illegal and punishable by law?

So what? It's rated 18 or M or whatever, so it's not for kids.

Tell me whether I've missed something. I'm not au fait with the US system.
 

Vandemar

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From what I read, a judge gets to decide if games should be pulled from the store shelves. It's an attempt to apply the "community standards" obscenity test to video games.

Basically, the ratings aren't the important part. The important part is what the judge thinks.
 

Vandemar

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Original Comment by: Nikudada

The funny thing about the whole situation, to me, is the level of interactivity that makes something a game. I mean, we have games out there sold in porn stores and such where the whole object is to, well, you get the idea. The only reason we don't hear about those is that they don't sell as well as Elder Scrolls or GTA (i don't think). Just another indication how these political asshats are attempting to only target those products that reach a larger crowd.

Games are potentially the ultimate playground for freedom of expression - the ability to create characters and make moral descisions without real life repercussions can be a wonderful way to express any of ones own emotions. The fact that a couple of people can decide whether or not a game is acceptable for the public is ludicrous . Seriously, these 'horrible' scenes in games almost always demand the user deliberatley input a very specific code. Just because the judge may think orc boobies are too much doesn't mean I won't - they kinda remind me of my x. *sniff*

And yes, I have nothing to do at work today...