|
 | 
Jul-22-2008NY Law Seeks to Restrict Violent Video Games(topic overview)
CONTENTS:
SOURCES
FIND OUT MORE ON THIS SUBJECT
The law will create an advisory council to study the effects of violent games on the children. It will also require parental controls on game consoles by 2010 and prominent displays of age ratings on game packages. Critics say the bill is too vague and too watered down to accomplish its goal. Critics including the group Americans for Tax Reform contend that curbing video violence wasn't really the point in New York or nearly a dozen other states that enacted similar laws, only to see them struck down by courts as unconstitutional. "It's moral preening," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. [1] The law will create an advisory council to study the effects of violent games on the children who play them. It will also require parental controls on game consoles by 2010 and prominent displays of age ratings on game packages. The group Americans for Tax Reform and other critics say this latest state effort is a hollow political gesture that will cost taxpayers when it is ruled unconstitutional in court.[2]
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. David Paterson says a bill he signed will help limit video game violence. The law creates an advisory council to study the effects of violent games on the children who play them. It also requires parental controls on game consoles by 2010 and prominent displays of age ratings on game packages.[3] ALBANY - A bill enacting new restrictions on violent video games has been signed into law by Gov. David Paterson ' a move civil libertarian groups say will be challenged in court on free speech grounds.[4]
Associated Press Writer July 22, 2008 ALBANY, N.Y. - Gov. David Paterson signed a law Tuesday that he said will lead to restrictions on video game violence and help families better monitor grisly games.[1]
A prime sponsor, Republican Sen. Andrew Lanza of Staten Island, said the felony provision wouldn't have held up in court, but the remaining elements should stand and help limit access to the games. When the bill was passed this spring, Lanza said the criminal sanction sought by some is already addressed at least in part under pornography and other laws. Most of the cities and states that have seen their regulations invalidated by courts tried to equate video violence with pornography and restricted the sale of the games to children.[1] The bill also creates a state Advisory Board on Interactive Media and Youth Violence to make recommendations regarding the relationship between youth violence and video games. Backers say the legislation is needed to help assist parents in ensuring their children cannot so easily get their hands on some of the more violent video games on the market today.[4]
When the inevitable lawsuit comes, the state pays for everybody's legal expenses." "The reason it is politically popular," he said, "Is the average citizen will read a headline that says, `State Legislature is against violence in children's video games.' They are unlikely to read a headline that says, `Legislature will waste $70,000 of your tax dollars."' "It also unfairly singles out the video game industry over all other forms of media," said Richard Taylor of the Entertainment Software Association. "If New York lawmakers feel it is the role of government to convene a government commission on game content, they could next turn to other content such as books, theater and film."[1] "New Yorkers do not need the state judging which video games are appropriate and which aren't," said New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman. "Parents, not government committees, should be responsible for making those judgments."[1]
The question was never whether to do something about video games that star automatic weapons and gore _ that's been politically attractive for years, resulting in legislation in the other states besides New York.[1]
A violation of the labelling and parental control provisions could result in a $100 civil penalty, far from the state prison time proposed by New York lawmakers.[3]
The governor also approved a measure making spectators at animal fights guilty of a new law. Another bill approve restores the discretion to discharge people from parole that the state Board of Parole held from 1930 to 1998. It permits the board to grant parole in certain cases to individuals who served an indeterminate sentence with a maximum of life in prison. In 1998, people with such convictions were subject to mandatory lifetime parole after their release from prison. "There is no indication that such mandatory lifetime supervision is necessary to promote public safety.[4] "Parents can do the job of parenting. I view this bill as political feel-good," said Derek Hunter, executive director of Media Freedom Project, one of a half-dozen state and national groups that had urged Paterson to veto the bill. Other bills signed by Paterson include new protections for residents of mental health facilities, including new standards determining child abuse or neglect in residential institutions and a specific ban on the withholding of food or water from residents of the facilities. "The first duty of government is to provide a safe society for our resident to live, work and raise their families. These new laws will enhance the protections afforded to the citizens of this state and will address gaps in protection that have existed for years," Paterson said in signing the package of bills Tuesday.[4] Critics including the group Americans for Tax Reform say the law Paterson signed Tuesday is a hollow political gesture that will cost taxpayers when it is challenged in court. Similar measures in nearly a dozen other U.S. states already have been struck down.[3]
The measure was among three dozen the governor signed into law Tuesday. Another law expands civil orders of protection access to include alleged abusers not related to the victim. Another provides for automatic revocation of state teaching licenses by educators convicted of sex crimes.[4]
The problem of Internet impersonation is intensifying with the growing availability of personal data online, as well as the increase in social networking and dating sites," a legislative memo in support of the bill states. The law creates a new misdemeanor offense for impersonation via electronic means such as the internet.[4] Language making a felony of selling video games that are sexually explicit or contain depraved violence was lost during furious lobbying that derailed the bill in May 2007. That provision would have made the law among the strictest in the nation.[1] The video game legislation came together during the final 24 hours of the legislative session in June. It requires that games sold by retailers include the industry's voluntary rating board. It also requires game consoles to include special features by 2010 that enable parents to lock out certain kinds of games based on content or rating.[4] Critics say the industry already has a rating system that works and most gaming consoles have locking systems for parents. They add that the new advisory council has a mandate so broad it could trample on First Amendment rights of game users.[4]
The new commission is akin to forming state panels to make recommendations on the content of newspapers or movies. They also say similar laws adopted in other states have already been struck down by the courts, and the state will be wasting money on lawsuits. [4]
SOURCES
1. NY law seeks to restrict violent video games -- Newsday.com
2. NY law adds restrictions on violent video games | pressconnects.com | Press & Sun-Bulletin
3. The Canadian Press: New York law adds new restrictions on violent video games
4. Governor signs law restricting violent video games : Latest Local News : The Buffalo News
Need a practical & comprehensive advice? Get your personalized recommendations here:
GENERATE A MULTI-SOURCE SUMMARY ON THIS SUBJECT:
Enter your search query below.
(Please WAIT 10-20 sec for the new window to open.)
Get more info on NY Law Seeks to Restrict Violent Video Games by using the iResearch Reporter tool from Power Text Solutions.
 |
|  |
|
