OK outlaws sale of violent video games to kids

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PinnedAndRecessed

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http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0606/335050.html

Oklahoma City (AP) - Oklahoma children will no longer be allowed to buy video games with inappropriate and gratuitous violence after the signing of a bill today by Governor Henry.

The governor says parents have the ultimate responsibility for what their children do or see, but the new legislation will provide a tool to ensure young people are not saturated in violence.

The measure was written by Oklahoma City Republican Glenn Coffee and Oklahoma City Democrat Fred Morgan.
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Guess what? Kids under the age of 17 ARE ALREADY BANNED from buying mature rated video games. They need to educate the morons at wal-mart who are selling this stuff. I have to present two forms of ID and sign a waiver sheet to buy a box of sudafed but some 16 year old can buy "GTA: vice city" no questions asked.

SW
 
Education of workers can be good, but arrests will quickly drive home the point. The resulting news stories about chains that are breaking the law is more punitive than any fine.
 
Guess what? Kids under the age of 17 ARE ALREADY BANNED from buying mature rated video games. They need to educate the morons at wal-mart who are selling this stuff. I have to present two forms of ID and sign a waiver sheet to buy a box of sudafed but some 16 year old can buy "GTA: vice city" no questions asked.

SW
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Here's a novel idea, why not leave the private companies alone and hold the parents responsible for what kind of entertainment their children purchase?

Government has no business regulating entertainment.
 
Make parents responsible? *Gasp*

Teach kids right vs wrong so they won't just go out and do whatever violent things they see in games/movies? *double gasp*
 
Make parents responsible? *Gasp*
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How can parents be held responsible?

When you've removed all vestiges of the basis for a moral code from government and from society, what remains to say that seeing boobs and blood is bad for kids? Geez! You need a PhD in psychology and $15 million in federal grant money to understand how little Johnny's tender psyche could be damaged by spending 45 hours a week shooting cops and pimpin' ho's. How could a single parent understand something that complex?

But, even for the PhD's out there...suppose a kid actually does end up with one of these games? What recourse do the parents have? You can't spank a kid!!! For shame! Talk about TEACHING violence! So, then, you know, really all they can do is ground them or make them do push ups until they puke, but we could really just avoid all of this by enacting yet another law to just prevent the whole ugly circumstance to begin with...it's not like we have more pressing issues to deal with anyway.

:rolleyes:
 
I really don't see how a normal mentaly stable child is going to go on a killing spree because of a video game. There has to be something else wrong. The game might be the inspiration for the particular style of violence but I am convinced that the motivation to carry it out has to come from somewhere else.
 
I really don't see how a normal mentaly stable child is going to go on a killing spree because of a video game. There has to be something else wrong. The game might be the inspiration for the particular style of violence but I am convinced that the motivation to carry it out has to come from somewhere else.
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Yep, lack of discipline.

I saw a perfect example of it. Delivered a pizza to a house the other night. This snot nozed 9 year old, busts out the door, screaming at the top of his lungs, grabs the pizza out of the bag and runs back in. God I hate kids. Housekeeper/maid invites me in and tells me to wait while the mother gets the cash. I'm standing there in the doorway watching three kids all apparently under 10, playing GTA: Vice city, and demonstrating that kids under 10 have no apparent volume control. Did I mention I can't stand kids. And you know, I didn't think for once the game had anything to do with it. Especially after the mom came out and paid for the pizza, her little snot nozed piece of...(visible twitch)...juvenile delinquint..promptly said thanks with a kick to the shin. Did I mention kids and I don't get along. She just shook her head, smiled at me, and said something to the effect of boys being boys. I didn't quite catch what she said though, I was concentrating on restraint.

Of course, no tip.:mad:
 
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herd mentality type people tend to want to legally regulate and control inanimate objects because of the way they're abused
 
I have yet to see any scientific proof that first person shooter games, or other violent content games actually influence behavior. Those kids that are inclned to be nut cases will turn out that way regardless of what kind of video games they play.
 
Glock 31- id compain to your manager about the treatment you recieved. I was treated kinda like that when i delivered a car i had fixed when i worked at the Ford garage. Some littel brat came out and hit me in the back with a rock about the size of an apple. Didnt hurt much but the parent recieved a call from the store owner saying if they didnt want a lawsuit they better keep thier kids under control. We were never bothered again and abotu a week later we got a box of doughnuts and cookeis.

SW
 
Sure parents should be held responsible, but that doesn't mean that buisnesses are allowed to break ordinances either.
They aren't allowed to sell alcohol or tobacco products to minors either.
Add pornography to that.
Many substances are regulated and can only be sold to people or buisnesses that meet certain criteria.
Nobody argues that buisnesses shouldn't be responsible or penalized if they break these laws.

Parents are also allowed to make the decision that their children can play these games.
 
Yes, but do those laws have legit reasons behind them? Do they have any legal basis?

Anyway, I'm 14, and a bit of a n00b gamer (no FPSes on my PC :p ), but if I get one of those new Apple MacBooks, I might buy Halo. If Oregon passes a law like this, I'd have to have my parents buy it for me. Ugh... :barf:
 
ok heres my theory:
If the kid has an outtlet for volience he/she is less likley to vent it all at once in an inapproiate manner. And the kids will have some thign more fun to do than plot to kill every body.
 
Hey hey hey, it's you friendly lab rat involving himself in a little experiment.

1st off, I am a 16 year old kid, and I live in Oklahoma. I aquired Farcry Instincts: Evolution from my local blockbuster today, no questions asked whatsoever and the guy at the counter asked me if I had beaten Resident Evil 4 because that was the game I was returning having rented it previously in the week.

Both games contain strong language, graphic violence and gore.

Well, so I played Farcry for a couple hours with my gun collection literally less than 6 feet away, it contained:

A Mossberg 500 "persuader" with pistol grip
A Yugo 59/66 SKS
A Mosin Nagant 91/30
A Lee Enfield No.4Mk1
A Marlin 925
A Ruger 10/22 with dreaded pistol grip stock and 25 round magazine
Approx. 300 total rounds of mixed caliber ammunition

At no time was I in any way inclined to pick up any of my firearms and do anything with it (except for taking them apart/ admiring their beauty, but that's a constant urge)

Now how could I have done this with such easy access to so many firearms? Because I posses the ability to see the differene between reality and a videogame.

How was I allowed to rent a violent videogame from blockbuster when I am underage? Because *gasp* I might look older than I really am, and blockbuster might actually want people's buisness and feel that asking for the I.D. of everyone without gray hair might make their customers unhappy.

Why do my parents let me play such violent videogames? Because they pay attention to my actions and behavior, and know that I am psychologically stable and can handle a videogame.

And *gasp* they buy me guns! LOOKOUT HERE COMES THE APACALYPSE!!!!!

Basically, the parents need to monitor what's happening, but a videogame isn't going to make anyone do anything unless they're already VERY inclined to do it.
 
Thanks for the concern silicon wolverine, appreciate it. Although the thought had crossed my mind, I don't think anything other than turning the other cheek, especially since the kid didn't seem to know any better, would be called for, this time. They are repeat customers, and it sure won't happen again without, at the very least, a black ball.

Regardless of whether or not laws like having to follow the ESRB rating recommendation are legitimate or not. Until someone decides to care enough to remove them or ammend them, buisnesses must follow the procedures they operate under. You know any press conference a buisness, like say Blockbuster, sends representatives to, the announcement will always be the standard, "We comply with all federal, state, and local regulations when it comes to our sales to customers and we maintain only the highest quality of age verification as possible." Since no company would say otherwise, they should be held to such standards in EVERY store, with EVERY customer. If they're not willing to take the time to do so, they should be held accountable for that offense. Not the offense of the customer.

Here's a some what similar question I'm not entirely sure what stance I take on.

If a gunstore somehow permits someone under the legal age, or not legally able to posses a firearm, to obtain a firearm. Then said person goes on a killing spree, who should be held to blame. The buyer, or the seller, or both?:cool:
 
I'd say definitely both. However, I would have to say that a gun is far more dangerous than a videogame, but I do see your point.


Here's another somewhat difficult question:

We keep minors restricted from buying cigarettes, alchahol and guns because of the responsibility one must have in using these (okay, I don't really know how you can smoke responsibly and there are always going to be people who misuse these regardless of age)

But do violent videogames and pornography carry the same inherent danger if somehow misused?

NOTE: I in no way advocate porn being availible to minors (although the law is really a joke) and being an avid violent videogame player for many years i'm pretty biased on the former.
 
Did I mention I can't stand kids.
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That's why I support the right to abort a fetus up until it's 25th birthday;) .
Look at the bright side, you don't have the housekeeper's job.

How about the parents of the little turds? It really seems to me that some time in the recent past, it's become socially unacceptable for parents to teach kids any sort of manners.
 
Ironically when I was under 14 I had no problem buying cigarettes but I could not get into a rated R flick. Violent games were no problem but then again we are talking in the days of Atari and Intellivision so the graphics were so poor you could not make a game "realisticly" violent. Today these games look just like a movie. If you can't buy a ticket to a rated R movie you should not be able to buy a Rated R video game.
 
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