Parents Television Council Backs Oklahoma Video Game Bill
Prior to yesterday's vote, the Los Angeles-based Parents Television Council threw its support behind video game legislation in the Oklahoma State Senate. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Glen Coffee, passed unanimously (see GP story above).
In a press release issued Saturday, the PTC, which claims to have over one million members in the United States, called on the Oklahoma Senate to pass Coffee's measure.
"This bill will protect children from the graphic violence and explicit sex that is common in many video games without infringing on the rights of adults. Currently, retailers have no legal obligation to curtail the selling of graphic, harmful and violent video games to minors, the parents in Oklahoma want that to change," wrote PTC executive director Tim Winter.
"Voluntary compliance by the video game industry has been a failure..." Winter continued, "In addition, medical research offers overwhelming evidence that these ultra-violent games can cause damage to a child's brain."
The PTC press release goes on to say that the organization has "intensified its efforts to increase public awareness to the impacts of violent video games and their affects on children... chapter directors have called on... lawmakers to make the sale restrictions of violent video games to children a high priority. Violent video game legislation has passed in Michigan, Illinois and California, and is being considered in many states including Missouri, Kansas, and Minnesota as well as at the federal level in Congress."
GP: No mention in the PTC press release that the Michigan and Illinois laws were found to be unconstitutional, nor that the California statue may face a similar fate next month when a Federal District Court judge is scheduled to rule on the video game industry's challenge.
Plus, a tip of GP's hat to regular Fandel Mulkey for letting us know about this one!