The Governator Wasting More California Taxpayer Money Over Unconstitutional Violent Video Game Ban

from the how-much-money-needs-to-be-wasted? dept

Thu, Sep 6th 2007 10:01pm — Mike Masnick

Last month, California was the latest in a long list of states who discovered that passing a ban on the sale of violent video games violates the Constitution. This shouldn't be a surprise. More than 10 states have passed such laws and every single one of them has been thrown out. Any state still trying to pass such a law is clearly just wasting taxpayer money so some politicians can claim (incorrectly) that they're "protecting the children." It looks like California's Governor Schwarzenegger is joining the crowd of wasteful grandstanding politicians. He's appealing last month's ruling and making a bunch of factually incorrect statements in doing so. First, he claims that "many studies show the link between playing ultra-violent video games and violent behavior." That's incorrect. The studies that people like to cite have all been debunked, as the interpretation usually doesn't follow from the data in the studies. Furthermore, the real world evidence that violent crime rates keep dropping as violent video games get more popular should raise plenty of questions concerning any claim of the opposite. Second, the Governor claims "we protect our children from buying inappropriate movies and ought to be able to protect them from buying inappropriate video games as well." That's nice, but it all depends on who the "we" is. It's true that kids cannot buy certain movies, but that's based on a voluntary system, put in place by the movie industry -- and not a government mandated one. That's the key issue here -- and Schwarzenegger is being misleading by claiming that the voluntary agreement in the movie industry is the equivalent of a gov't-backed plan.

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Filed Under: california, politicians, video games, violence

23 Comments

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GoblinJuice, 6 Sep 2007 @ 10:38pm

Looks like I won't vote for this guy, again.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Sep 2007 @ 11:01pm

Well you have to be 17 to buy M rated games just like you have to be 17 to watch/buy rated r movies.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2007 @ 12:24am

Re:
but yet the parents trust their kids. so goes to show what parents are doing now a days that they are too busy to teach their children any morals.
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Wig, 7 Sep 2007 @ 1:13am

What is "inappropriate"?
Last I checked, the majority of the 'inappropriate' movies weren't rated so because of their violent but because of their sexual nature... Face it: a movie showing some nudity will more likely be rated PG than a movie where someone is violently killed.

Hey, maybe 'they' just want to tell you whatever they feel will get them that bit of popularity/publicity they seek at that moment.

Except... 'they' are not making themselves popular with parents that actually think about these issues: who actually do some parenting in educating and guiding their children how to deal with violent games (and violence and sexuality in general for that matter). 'They' only make themselves popular with the those parents that are foolish enough to believe that everything will be ok if you give enough control to the goverment. The ability to make a descision for yourself and, as a parent, for your children must seem too big of a problem for them.

Maybe a law needs to be passed that denies these parents the right to have a kid? You know... to "protect that kid from the stupidity of its parents"?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2007 @ 2:27am

So its OK for Mr. Schwarzenegger to make violent movies but not OK for some folks to play violent games ?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2007 @ 2:54am

Post 5 beat me to it....
My thoughts exactly... from the guy who beheaded people with a sword. (Conan).....
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nunya_bidness, 7 Sep 2007 @ 4:19am

Re: Post 5 beat me to it....
I also think he was in on the law banning steroids from bodybuilding.
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The infamous Joe, 7 Sep 2007 @ 4:22am

Re: What is
Except... 'they' are not making themselves popular with parents that actually think about these issues: who actually do some parenting in educating and guiding their children how to deal with violent games (and violence and sexuality in general for that matter).

So, he's hurting his popularity with you and a few hundred other people, huh? :)

If the "save the children" tactic didn't work, they wouldn't do it. Scorn should be placed more on the people who fall for (and thus, indirectly, encourage) this type of campaigning and less on the political action figures who see something that will work and use it. (Not saying they're in the right, just that solving the issue from the bottom up would be more effective)
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2007 @ 5:20am

He needs to be terminated :|
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Sir Cucumber, 7 Sep 2007 @ 5:56am

man, Terminator 2 on the NES was friggin awesome! Except you'd lose at the end for throwing Arnold in the molten steel before talking to John Connor, who would say to throw yourself in the molten steel, after which doing it would make you win.
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DIAF, 7 Sep 2007 @ 7:01am

passively pissed
Ummm.... so this censorship crap has gone too far. Been gaming since I was three. I have played every violent game out there. Been cappin Nazi's for years, demons, zombies...etc. I have yet to harm another human (but I can still dream, right?)

My daughter is now 3 months old. I have grown weary of politician douche bags attempting to legislate what clearly is a parental choice. Here's an idea, STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES GOVERNMENT. We can handle just about any situation without your intervention, and usually better than you ever could. That's my daughter. I feed her, clothe her, and care for her. I will chose what she consumes, not you. Not ever.
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Seeker, 7 Sep 2007 @ 7:05am

Cite, please.
What are the 10 states (plus California, which makes 11) that tried to ban the sale of violent video games?
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TheDock22, 7 Sep 2007 @ 7:50am

I don't get it....
I thought video games already had ratings and restrictions. When I bought Grand Theft Auto I was carded because the lady though I was under 17 (nice flattery, but she was waaaay off). Heck I got carded buying the game strategy guide for Grand Theft Auto. Then again, maybe it's a store by store thing.
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barren, 7 Sep 2007 @ 8:38am

ratings
I love the irony of this. We are supposed to be tolerant of other peoples beleifs and values in todays world. The government sponsors countles organizations promoting moral responsibility and tolerance...then turns around and gives us the FCC and all the organizations behind it. A story cannot be told without some kind of obstacle for the hero to overcome. There has to be conflict of some sort or all we will have are stories about people who get up, go to work, and come home to sleep. Interesting. So, we have the government preaching tolerance at us, while being intolerant to our varying beliefs and values, as well as regulating what we can and cannot see and hear. So much for the constitution. Heil FCC!!!!
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RandomThoughts, 7 Sep 2007 @ 9:03am

How did the Terminator get linked to the FCC?

Is this anything new? Didn't they want to ban Elvis? Buddy Holly? Didn't they burn books back in the day? Didn't they burn disco records at a baseball game (oh, that was actually because it sucked, not because of censorship, nevermind.)
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Brian, 7 Sep 2007 @ 10:32am

Re: I don't get it....
I know...I'm 34, look 34, and got carded when I bought Gears of War. I don't even get carded for alcohol. WTF?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Sep 2007 @ 1:42pm

Don't blame me, I voted for GARY COLEMAN!
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Sanguine Dream, 7 Sep 2007 @ 5:43pm

Re:
Well the comedian Chris Rock did say in one of his standups something to the effect of, "Once you get to the top the first thing you do is change the system so that no one else can do the same thing you did."
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teknosapien, 8 Sep 2007 @ 7:51am

Wait a moment
/sarcasm/ Does this mean that the next arena to be attacked would be violent movies, I mean after all violent games are an evolutionary step up from violent movies.
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edward, 9 Sep 2007 @ 11:17pm

The Gap Between Natural Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence

There is far way to go for the gap between Natural Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence filled, or close to be filled, trust me or not

1. Where is the natural intelligence coming from? What is the essence of intelligence?

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4. Incremental Learning is one of major characteristics of natural intelligence, how shall robotics model Incremental Learning?

5. How will robots evolve from individual-based, to team-based, to community-based, and to society-based ? Will a Third Life like Second Life appear in the future?

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7. How shall we deal the situation when the Artificial Intelligence of robots to surpass natural intelligence of human being? How to address robot security?

For more details, please check
Frontier Blog at - http://www.hwswworld.com/wp
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Freedum, 10 Sep 2007 @ 12:07pm

Liberalism lives!
Remember Arnold was and is a very liberal politician, regardless of his party affiliation. The dems Always think that they know better, and want to control every little nook and cranny of our personal lives.

I say leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone. Mess with my stuff or my loved ones, we have a problem. What you do in your home is your business. If you or your kid commits a crime, you go to jail.

Stop telling us what to say, think, do, or enjoy.
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eric, 14 Sep 2007 @ 8:18am

i will like to have u as my friend
hello how are u doing as i am fine
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Tyler, 17 Oct 2007 @ 11:03am

Re: i will like to have u as my friend
Arnold Schwartzenegger is the best!
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