Comments on: Will the Supreme Court Let California Kids Buy Violent Video Games?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:29:52 +0000

This case is ridiculous. The argument is that minors already have limited rights, so why not limit them more? Make it a decision for the parents or, better yet, give the minor’s their rights. The government can’t go on saying that it knows best forever, the minors need to be respected as people as well. The parents can decide how to raise their children, not the government.

By: Gil

Gil — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:50:18 +0000

@4:

It is very different to legally restrict sales: movie and music ratings and enforcement, like video game ratings and enforcement currently outside places where laws like this are attempted, are entirely voluntary and not a legal issue. It is up to the trade groups (MPAA/RIAA/ESA) and the retailers to restrict sales.

It is not illegal for Best Buy to sell a 4 year old the Saw movie collection, nor the latest vulgar rap CD, nor is it illegal for a teen to buy tickets to a rated R or NC-17 film. Nor should it be.

By: Bob Snyder

Bob Snyder — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:22:29 +0000

All they are trying to do is restrict the sale of “violent” games to MINORS, not the public. Is this really much different than restricting the sale of DVD’s rated R or MA to minors? They’re not saying that minors can’t play the games, just that they can’t buy them. I don’t see much of a problem with this other than not showing much in the way of evidence concerning a (measurable) detrimental impact to how the youths who play these games grow up.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:44:53 +0000

What makes finding a correlation between violent video games and real-life violence is that people are different. There are 2 possible responses to overstimulation: become desensitized (as the law presumes will happen) or become oversensitized. What we need to learn is what other aspects of a person’s circumstances lead them to one response or the other.

By: scott

scott — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:02:38 +0000

True….not that long ago in human history kids were taught to fight wars, had to work in brutal conditions at an early age, etc. Very few kids through the eons have lived a carefree, ideal childhood. What about terrible family dynamics, video games or not? I know some really messed up people from that.

Although I would not let a child play a violent game, I think the foods they (kids) eat these days are creating more of a public health nightmare than video games and affect brain chemistry in worse ways, contributing to bad behavior, health, moods, etc. A bowl of Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, tator tots and chicken fingers for lunch, candy bar for snack, a coke and McDonalds happy meal for dinner I think is much worse than a video game…as stated above, there have always been bad guy vs good guy, kill bad guy games.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:11:40 +0000

This is an issue for parents, not for the Supreme Court. If your child purchases a game you find to be too violent, take it back to the store or get rid of it. If you purchase a violent game for your child, you have only yourself to blame.

Don’t infringe upon my right to purchase a game for entertainment because you are afraid of the impact it will have on minors. If you open retailers to litigation because a minor managed to purchase a violent game then you will cause those retailers to stop carrying said games.

How many parents took their children to see Passion of the Christ despite the extremely violent scenes in that movie? They said it was all right in the ‘context’ of the theme. How about Call of Duty when you storm the beaches of Normandy? Or in any roleplaying game when you stereotypically kill the dragon to save the princess? Or let’s go one step further when the United States Army itself now distributes a -free- game where the goal is to kill the opposing force? Stop trying to repress things just for the ‘children’.

As for the content influencing minors to be more ‘violent’.. I’d say we’re hardwired that way. Ask any young boy what imaginary games he played as a child and you’re likely to find cowboys and indians, army men or countless others. Stop blaming others for your failures as parents or a chemical imbalance in a child.