Boston Mayor Pushing Restrictions on Violent Video Games

Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston is leading a crusade to push legislation that would allow the state of Massachusetts to treat violent video games as pornography, so their sale could be restricted. The bill is similar to legislation declared unconstitutional in Louisiana and Utah.

“Children aged 17 and under should not be sold this stuff, so they are not getting into the hands of 9- and 10-year-olds,” said Larry Mayes, Menino’s chief of human services.

“Is it going to be an uphill battle? Sure. But it’s absolutely a battle that the mayor feels he should take on.”

“I think this legislation is a good idea,” said state Rep. Christine E. Canavan (D-Brockton), a co-sponsor of the legislation that will be heard tomorrow.

“I don’t want this constant barrage of violence on young minds and for them to think it is all right,” she said.

Opponents of the proposed law point out that other forms of media aren’t restricted in such a way. Nine similar proposals have already been shot down by federal court.

“Every time states have tried to restrict access to First Amendment-protected material, it has been considered unconstitutional,” said Dan Hewitt, spokesman for the Entertainment Software Association , which represents the U.S. computer and video gaming industry.

District Court Judge James Brady ordered a permanent injunction to block implementation of a similar statute in Louisiana.

In his judgment, Brady said video games are “as much entitled to the protection of free speech as the best of literature.”

The games industry voluntarily rates titles and clearly labels them so that games with mature content will remain out of the hands of children. Restrictions and penalties should be the jurisdiction of parents, not the government on any level.
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