Ban on Gaming Violence Blocked

Good news from Louisiana! U.S. District Judge James Brady issued an injunction to block a ban on video games that are considered violent. According to the AP story, Louisiana is just the latest in a string of states to have had similar bans blocked in the courts.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said in a statement she believes violent video games harm children. "I'm calling on all parents to diligently monitor the video games that their children are allowed to play. If the courts can not protect our children, then we need to do it by rejecting the merchant of violence," the statement said.

I think this attitude is why we distrust politicians. Calling on parents to raise their kids - check, I'm onboard with that. But, the courts don't need to be involved in this type of problem. And, really, who says 'merchant of violence'?

Science Fiction and Fantasy video games would be hard hit by a violence bill. Although there are good psychological scifi stories, they do not translate into games very well. Killing the bad guy is part of the story and good stories often have interesting ways of performing that task. If a small, vocal group of people object to the way the task is performed, the game could be banned. That's wrong.

I am glad that the courts are siding with the First Amendment. I am also glad that gaming creativity will not be shackled - we need good games to divert us from everyday life.

Print   |     |