Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

BAN VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES! This seems to surface all over the states multiple times every year. Currently the governor of Illinois is pushing a law that would ban the sale of "violent" or "pornographic" video games to minors (under 18).

This entire issue is a non issue, its asinine.

Children should of course not view or "play games" that have graphic violence or sexual content. However its not the STATES PLACE to police this. If the state passes such a law it puts the burden of raising children on retail store clerks rather than parents.

Its true we have lots of other really stupid laws in this country that do the same thing but that does not make another one correct. Sales of tobacco to minors, alcohol to minors, outright porn to minors and so on are all "against the law" and those also are ridiculous laws. Again not because kids should have access to these things but because again its not the states job to decide the standards for kids and to be parents to the kids.

If a state wants to prevent and criminalize violence or porn or whatever that it deems "harmful" to children (and a state even going this far is frankly wrong, not the states job, not something that is easy to enforce, but for the sake of argument here we go) then it should simply use EXISTING CRUELTY AND NEGLIGENCE LAWS TO PROSECUTE PARENTS when kids buy or use or have or see such materials? Dont make new ridiculous laws rather call it child abuse to allow it? (And if you want to argue that kids will do it against the will of parents then charge the kids themselves, if they are capable enough to willfully disregard their parents AND the law then they can deal with juvenile punitive consequences directly.)

What the hell should we charge the store clerk making 7 bucks an hour for (or for that matter the store itself). Dont put the retailers in the position of being parents? Give that job and responsibility, good and bad, back to parents (and or kids themselves).

See the linked Yahoo article for details on the latest effort by the gubernatorial clown of Illinois.   Ill. Gov. Seeks Ban on Violent Video Games