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Games Government Entertainment Politics

Clinton Files Game Legislation 61

Posted by Zonk from the buckle-your-seat-belts dept.
GamePolitics is reporting that Senator Clinton has formally filed game legislation. The bill, likely not to be discussed until the Senate returns from Holiday break, is co-sponsored by Senator Lieberman. From the article: "The Senators emphasized that their legislation will put teeth in the enforcement of video game ratings, helping parents protect their children from inappropriate content. They were joined in making the announcement by April DeLaney, Director of the Washington Office for Common Sense Media; Norman Rosenberg, President and CEO of Parents Action for Children and Dr. Michael Rich, Director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital in Boston and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, in a show of support for the legislation. "
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Clinton Files Game Legislation More

Clinton Files Game Legislation

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  • think of the children!

    Ugh, this wheeling and dealing by Clinton is just infuriating. We HAVE laws that specify which games can and cannot be sold to minors. We HAVE a ratings board. If these are broken, fix them, but new laws? C'mon!

    Have I said UGH?
    • We HAVE laws that specify which games can and cannot be sold to minors.

      No, we don't, at least not federally (states may try but will probably be shut down by the state or federal courts). Just like we don't have laws that enforce the rating for movies. These are guildlines that are pushed down from controlling bodies within each industry.

      You can't get arrested for letting a 12 year-old into an R-rated movie. There might be sanctions from the MPAA on the movie theater but frankly I've never heard of t

  • Oh please... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by VickiM ( 920888 )
    This has nothing to do with the children. It has everything to do with the 2008 Presidential election. 'Nough said.
    • This has nothing to do with the children. It has everything to do with the 2008 Presidential election. 'Nough said.

      Well... I'm hoping for a Clinton vs Mccain ticket... Or maybe a Clinton vs Juliano.

      I'm torn. I'd like to see a female president, but I'd really like to see a moderate and sane republican in the White House again that isn't declaring war and trampling on rights... And is getting the government the hell out of morality legislation!
  • she can have mine...

  • Don't Senators watch PBS? (Score:5, Informative)

    by mkraft ( 200694 ) on Friday December 16, 2005 @05:55PM (#14275984)
    Maybe someone should send the good Senators Professor Jenkin's study [pbs.org] debunking the myth that video games cause children to become aggressive homicidal sociopaths as mentioned here on Tuesday [slashdot.org].

    Better yet, why doesn't everone send them it.

    Clinton, Hillary [senate.gov]- (D - NY)
    476 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
    (202) 224-4451
    Web Form: http://clinton.senate.gov/contact [senate.gov]


    Lieberman, Joseph [senate.gov]- (D - CT)
    706 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
    (202) 224-4041
    Web Form: http://lieberman.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?rega rding=issue [senate.gov]
    While you're at it, why not contact your Senators [senate.gov] and tell them to oppose the bill.

  • You cannot legislate responsibility! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by UnidentifiedCoward ( 606296 ) on Friday December 16, 2005 @05:57PM (#14276003)
    I have said this before, but I will say it again....

    While I agree that it is the role of government to protect its citzens, it is not the role of government to dictate or legislate morality or what is or is not appropriate for my children. The burden of responsibility rests exclusively with parents, not with day care, teachers (who many have turned to to handle their children out of incompotence, frustration or laziness), companies (vote with your wallet if you do not like their product) or the senate (which religious instutions have come to recognize as a cheap and easy police force, it is easier and cheaper than putting butts in pews and does not require consent). It is job of parents to decide what is or what is not appropriate for their children. Having children is a protected right, if you can have a kid without a permit, license, examination or qualification or demonstrated financial stability, then it sure as heck is not the responsiblity of the same government to raise them for you. It is not your T.V.'s, XBox's or teacher's job to raise them either.

    Raising kids is work, it requires time, you may be tired, want to do something else, but you wanted or have kids for whatever reason good or bad, tough luck. Now you are parent. Now you have to guide them, educate them, and punish them. It is work and you do NOT get paid to do it. As I stated previously, I am an adult gamer and soon to be father, I am a big game fan. I like a lot of games in the FPS catagory which are typically classified as violent. It is my job to decide if and when my child will be granted access to such material until they achieve legal age to make such determinations for themselves. It is my job to be interested in my child's activities, to notice that they are despondent, angry or frustrated and about do something stupid. It is MY job to help them, guide them, and punish them.

    That, said, I want to know who would honestly believes that a child could make/modify a sawed-off shotgun in their garage/basement/room if the parent exercised due diligence. You do not do that quietly. It is not something you are assigned in metal shop. I am definitely not going to ask or even expect the $6.25/hour idiot behind the counter the local EBgames to do it for me either. It is my job to make sure that inapporpriate (which I define and decide upon) does not get in the house, the computer, etc. Take five minutes to walk through kid's room, even if you work two shifts at night. That said, kids do not NEED a computer, they want them, them make work easier. For good reason, it makes homework easier (I do not need to learn to spell or use proper grammar, that is what Word is for). I still own and use a working typerwriter (they still make them) and so will my kids. Some tools BREED laziness. Sometimes it is important to learn how to proof read and use a dictionary (spell checker) the old fashioned analogue way.

    Parents may deem content inappropriate for what ever reasons they like, but that does not mean that others are obliged to protect their children from such "evils" if they do not deem it similarly inappropriate. For example, some christian organizations treat Harry Potter as evil for its depictions of magic, etc. That may not be the opinion of another parent, it is not mine. It therefore precludes successful legislation of any kind. It may be necessary to create a rating system, but it is a guide, NOT a rule. I may choose to adhere to it or not. I may choose to take my child to an R rated movie or play a FPS shooter at the age I deem appropriately.

    The computer game industry would be smart to buckle down and create a rigid and reasonable rating system. It should enforce it, it should guarantee the guide's integrity and should punish its own when they break it. I think the industry should be embarrased by the GTA fiasco, does that make GTA or Rockstar bad no. If the industry wants to regulate itself, it should grant the regulators the right to impose fines, damages, punative or othe
    • I'm still confused as hell at what went wrong here. The ESRB rated the game based on the content that was playable. "Hot Coffee" is not part of that content since you can't get to it without intentionally hacking the code. It's like complaining to your cable company that you can see the Playboy channel on your home cable system if you install a 3rd party descrambler and enter a code. WTF?
      • I'm still confused as hell at what went wrong here. The ESRB rated the game based on the content that was playable. "Hot Coffee" is not part of that content since you can't get to it without intentionally hacking the code. It's like complaining to your cable company that you can see the Playboy channel on your home cable system if you install a 3rd party descrambler and enter a code. WTF?

        I will agree. I think the entire issue is stupid. I downloaded HotCoffee just to see what the hell the fuss was. T
        • My guess to the reason it was left in was poor QA on Rockstar's part.

          And, if memory serves me, the ESRB re-rated the product AO, Rockstar pulled the game from the market and removed the content. So they did a little more than "Awe shucks..." I'm not sure what more should have been done. If Rockstar said "Tough luck" to the ESRB, I'm guessing we could of seen what sort of power they really have but, as it stands, I think the right actions were taken.

          Honestly, I don't think Clinton, Jack Thomson, or the li

          • Honestly, I don't think Clinton, Jack Thomson, or the like would care if Rockstar killed every last person in the QA department, they were looking for an example so they can undermine the ESRB and replace it with their own government control. Like the FCC, but this would be even crazier (for reasons I can go on about, but that's a whole other rant...).

            You are absolutely right, they were looking for a victim to crucify. And I do think Rockstar did the right thing, it cost them money to fix it, financial
      • "Hot Coffee" is not part of that content since you can't get to it without intentionally hacking the code.

        Rockstar tried the hacker defense only to be shot down when Hot Coffee was unlocked on the console ports of the game.

        The voluntary ratings system cannot survive if adult content can be secretly burnt into a game and later made accessible through publication of a cheat code.

        • That requires a cheat device that can make arbitrary changes to the system memory or storage. Once the user starts changing your data and even RAM all bets are off. Sure, the protection to keep it hidden wasn't very effective but as long as the system isn't compromised the code is not triggered. It's like complaining that your car's motor explodes after you ram a few bolts into it and claiming that the manufacturer is at fault for not adding anti-bolt protection to the motor. Rockstar went wrong by claiming
      • There was never any justification for that content to be in the game. This is not like "oh, we forgot to turn off the debug code". From a management perspective, it's questionable whether the content should have ever been created. That isn't the audience the game was targetting, and it's simply immature that it was ever inserted into the game. If I intentionally did something that caused my employer that level of liability, I'd expect to be escorted from the building.

        Frankly, I don't have a problem with rat
    • For example, some christian organizations treat Harry Potter as evil for its depictions of magic, etc.
      I always thought it was funny that the witches and wizards of Hogwarts all celebrate Christmas.
      • I am a Jew and I celebrate Christmas. Everybody (read most) people do, and I like the excuse to do some nice things for friends who put a lot of stock in it. It is not skin off my back. Besides Harry Potter is faux evil in a historical perspective (as I remind my friends jokingly on Easter, "Happy My people Nailed Your False Prophet to a Wooden Cross and then Rolled a Big Rock in Front of his Grave Which was Subsequently Robbed and You Thought was a Miracle Day!, wanna go eat some chocalte?"). But remem
    • "Parents may deem content inappropriate for what ever reasons they like, but that does not mean that others are obliged to protect their children from such "evils" if they do not deem it similarly inappropriate."

      So, liquor stores should not be fined or regulated because it's the parents' fault that their minor went in and bought a six-pack? You're missing the point here, yes, parents have the sole responsibility of keeping harmful material out of their children's way, but that doesn't mean that certain m
  • Correct me if I am wrong. The MPAA has a self imposed regulation system that seems to work pretty well. A board of parents rate the film using easy to identify letters. I don't think there are any penalties for allowing underage kids access to restricted material. I have not heard of youths being exposed to "Inappropriate" material at the theatre/sales oriface recently. The ESRB also is a system based on easy to identify letters. I hear of "inappropriate" material sold to youths fairly often here.

    I d
    • I have seen "R" rated films that would glorify the murder society much like scapegoats like the GTA series.

      You view a movie from a greater physical and psychological distance.

      You are not invited to wield the knife yourself or rewarded for the ingenuity of your kills. You are not encouraged to invest 40 to 60 hours or more in role-playing a pychopath.

      • Games also aren't very realistic, either. Though to be fair, maybe the League of Polygon-Deficient Americans has cause for concern.
      • You are viewing it from a distance because games aren't as interactive as real life yet. You get to decide the actions of the main character (to a certain degree) but only as far as "attack this guy" or "run over there". At best you trigger a movie of how the main character kills the guy. D&D allows you to do much more.

        Besides, the guys you kill in games often try to kill you. While gangsta culture encourages you to murder someone over a minor dispute, in games it's usually a matter of life and death.

        GT

  • Wikipedia article (Score:3, Informative)

    by jacoplane ( 78110 ) on Friday December 16, 2005 @07:32PM (#14276757) Homepage Journal
    I've created a small stub on wikipedia. I'm sure people here could help out flesh out a nice "criticism" section. Here's the article:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Entertainment_ Protection_Act [wikipedia.org]
  • Everyone calm down. The current rating system does jack. It is only a rating system, and only a few states actually have to use them when selling games. What they, not she, are doing is trying to make the rating system enforcable by law. As a parent, this means my child can not walk into a store and get crap like the new Larry game. Now, i don't care about the nudity, I just don't want my kid buying crap. I support this.

  • Dragon Quest (Score:3, Funny)

    by maddskillz ( 207500 ) on Friday December 16, 2005 @09:37PM (#14277392)
    The bill will also outlaw the opening day sale of Dragon Quest on a weekday

  • *sigh* (Score:3, Informative)

    by Starker_Kull ( 896770 ) on Saturday December 17, 2005 @04:53AM (#14278796)
    Just when I think the Democratic Party is starting to grow a spine and stand up for some libertarian principles rather than pander.... No, this is not intended as flame-bait - it is an expression of frustration with a binary political system that has segmented every issue into a "They don't think it's right?!?! Then it MUST be right! Write up a bill legislating it for us to vote on, intern! Oh, and say it's to protect the children!!!" - mentality.

    Here's a wacky idea - instead of legislating a bill "protecting [kids] from a coarsening culture" (Senator Bayh) in fictional video games, how about a bill protecting kids from real gun violence (Over 5,000 kids killed by guns in the US in 1997), real poverty (35,000,000 in 2003 in the U.S), and real rape (204,000 in the USA 2003-2004)? Oh, right, that would involve hard choices about civil liberties, responsibilities, Constitutional rights and freedom of choice, and other complicated things. Screw it, it won't get votes. Ban those nasty video games instead!!!

    http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/issues/?page=ki ds#1 [bradycampaign.org]

    http://www.rainn.org/statistics/ [rainn.org]

    http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/a rchives/income_wealth/002484.html [census.gov]

    http://www-medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GU NS/GUNSTAT.html [utah.edu]
    • (Over 5,000 kids killed by guns in the US in 1997)

      Actually, the number you were looking for was 4223. Which number counts as "kids" anyone age 19 and younger. Personally, I don't consider someone old enough to vote to be a "kid", but that's just me.

  • Legislation similar to this was already voted down by the Illinois legislature; I can't see the Senate approving such a radical measure if the Democrat-oriented Illinois legislature won't pass it. The ESRB is a business. Their motivation is profit, not public service. Restricting the sale of video games to minors based upon a rating given by a private business would grant the ESRB a government-sanctioned monopoly. Also, the Constitution nowhere gives Congress the ability to regulate sale of items. It give

  • The Hillary Effect (Score:4, Funny)

    by WittyName ( 615844 ) on Saturday December 17, 2005 @10:50PM (#14282780)
    Hillary Clinton and her driver were cruising along a country road
    one evening when an old cow loomed in front of the car. The
    driver tried to avoid it but couldn't - the old cow was killed.
    Hillary told her driver to go up to the farmhouse and explain to the
    owners what happened. She stayed in the car making phone calls
    to lobbyists.

    About an hour later, the driver staggered back to the car with his
    clothes in disarray. He was holding a half empty bottle of
    expensive wine in one hand, an expensive Cuban cigar in the
    other and was smiling happily, smeared with lipstick.

    "What happened?" asked Hillary.

    "Well," the driver replied, "the farmer gave me the cigar, his wife
    gave me the wine, and their beautiful twin daughters made mad
    passionate love to me."

    "My God, what did you tell them?" asked Hillary.
    The driver replied: "I said, I'm Hillary Clinton's driver, and I just
    killed the old cow."
  • Y'know it's been kind of rough for us Republicans lately. People have been actually paying attention to us ruining the economy and wasting good soldiers in Iraq and stuff, its been shaping up to be kind of a blue Christmas lately. Then the honorable Senator from New York goes and makes a complete fool of herself! Nothin like lady Macbeth in a headband and pantsuit to lighten those holiday glums. Did you know every time she whines on Larry King a Republican gets their wings? Merry Christmas, you wonderful

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