Louisiana Politicos Defend Game Bill 86
GameDaily reports on comments by LA Senators and politicians defending the Louisiana violent games law. The vigorous defense now has backing from the state's Attorney General, who has vowed to go to the SCOTUS if need be. From the article: "[Assistant Attorney General Burton] Guidry added that the law is 'not going to curtail the free speech of anybody,' but then he used the old 'games are training kids to kill' argument. 'This is more than speech. This is truly training for violence," he said. 'You assume the character of a mass murderer. You go out and kill people as violently as you can because you score more points.'"
I for one... (Score:1)
You for one... (Score:2)
Re:You for one... Adorable? (Score:2)
Ooookay, whatever...
I for one... (Score:2)
I hate election years. (Score:3, Insightful)
I doubt the law in LA will last any longer then the others.
I hate election years.
Re:I hate election years. (Score:4, Insightful)
These are the worst kind of idiots, my friend. These are determined idiots.
Re:I hate election years. (Score:1)
Anyone else ever notice... (Score:2)
Re:Anyone else ever notice... (Score:1)
Re:Anyone else ever notice... (Score:2, Insightful)
To them, it is not the least bit inconsist
Re:Anyone else ever notice... (Score:1, Insightful)
Look, these people are wrong, and I'm pretty sure most of us agree about that, but trying to draw paradox where none exists ignores the true threat of these people. Only by understanding their logic can you combat them; spurious alle
Re:Anyone else ever notice... (Score:1)
Re:I hate election years. (Score:2)
Determined, yes. Determined to get themselves voted out of ofice!
Or, perhaps their constituents really want this. Even still, aren't the rights of adults always greater than the rights of children?
Quotes of gold. (Score:5, Informative)
"The last thing we need is some video game promoting violent and illegal behavior. I understand where they[video game industry] are coming from. They feel like we are trying to stop the sale of these videos and in fact we are."
"Now if this is overturned, I think you'll see the legislature address it again in the next session," he noted. "We can't legislate morality but certainly we can stop these games from being sold in Louisiana, getting into the hands of our children. It's the least we could do."
I guess they aren't not doing what they are accused of doing.
Re:Quotes of gold. (Score:2)
"Now if this is overturned, I think you'll see the legislature address it again in the next session," he noted. "We can't legislate morality but certainly we can stop these games from being sold in Louisiana, getting into the hands of our children. It's the least we could do."
I dunno, I kinda agree with them on that one. But I think my version of the law might read a little differently then theirs:
All parents allowing the purchase of video games, movies, or other entertainment devices or media shall b
Re:Quotes of gold. (Score:4, Insightful)
It's just political grandstanding.
Re:Quotes of gold. (Score:2)
Think of the Children! (tm)
Re:Quotes of gold. (Score:2)
So basically, your version of the law states that an
Re:Quotes of gold. (Score:2)
The point was simply that if people want to blame video games for their effects on children, they should blame everything. As "The Daily Show" pointed out beautifully (and rather sneakily - if you weren't paying attention you missed the PBS watermark on the war footage) in Stewart's recent rant on Congressional hearings over viol
You can only legislate morality. (Score:1)
Sigh. (Score:4, Insightful)
Even if there is a correlation between violent video games and violence, removing the video games is not the answer. There's a correlation between driving cars and car accidents, too, but we don't ban cars. Education and parental involvement is the best solution, even if it is not the most direct or time efficient.
repeat after me... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:repeat after me... (Score:1)
Don't take this as I think you're wrong 100%. I more or less agree but I think that rather than using law there needs to be programs in place to give parents more time parent th
This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:2)
I don't have a problem with passing laws the restrict the purchase of mature games. Why not we restrict the sale of alcohol, tobacco, and fire arms to minors. Why shouldn't they remove those restrictions? I mean shouldn't a parent be responsible enough to make sure that their kids don't drink, smoke, or shoot up schools with out the government getting involved?
Get a clue folks the game manufact
Re:This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:2)
Actually there are several studies that show pornography is very addictive to some people and that it can cause harm to some people much like alcohol. Alcohol in moderation can actually be benifital to some people.
I even said that I thought that that this law was just a way to look like they where doing something while in actuality doing nothing.
Again I have no problem with the idea of ratings and limiting access to minors of certain games.
But folks let's have a reality check here.
The Game m
Re:This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:2)
>...
>(Occasionally books move humans to kill, re: politics, re:
>religion. But those folks were pretty messed in the head to
>begin with.
So... you think the people that commit murder with guns aren't, somehow, "pretty messed in the head to begin with"?
I have many guns (somewhere around 25 at last inventory). None of them (with the possible exception of the Russian surplus pistol, I don't know what was done with it before I got it) have ever killed anyone. At least
Re:This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:2)
Way to miss the context of the conversation. We were talking about whether kids should have these things. Yes, in my world as well, guns are a tool taht can be used well or poorly. However, children don't, by and large, have the capacity to tell in many situations what a good or bad use of tools are, and so we keep the more dangerous ones out of their hands. It's easier for a ten year old who doesn't know much about alcohol (and is smaller in general) to drink themselves to death upon finding a bottle of
Re:This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:2)
Wait..
What was that...
There are no laws against it!
The movie industry has self assigned ratings and self policing theatres. If a guy working the ticket booth lets a minor into an R rated movie, he may risk losing his job for violating his employment contract(I'm guessing there's something in there about minors and 'R' movies), but he does not face fines or jail time and a mark on his criminal re
Re:This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:1)
Re:This guy needs his priorities set straight (Score:2)
We're talking about the Louisiana Legislature, representatives from the state with the most offshore drilling rigs in the Union. Why worry about global warming when you have campaign donations from oil companies to earn?
Don't forget the serial-killer training games! (Score:5, Funny)
Since serial killers usually have a history of abusing animals, we should also ban Whack-a-Mole. After all, the more you beat them the more points you get. Someone call PETA!
Re:Don't forget the serial-killer training games! (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Killing for points! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Killing for points! (Score:2)
Paging Jon Katz (Score:2)
Re:Killing for points! (Score:1)
Actually, I doubt that it did have anything to do with them being bullied (especially since they weren't constantly bullied). It probably had more to do with the fact that Harris was a psychopath and Klebold was depressed and suicidal.
http://www.slate.com/id/2099203/ [slate.com]
Re:Killing for points! (Score:1)
Mixed up priorities (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Mixed up priorities (Score:2)
"Yeah, but I like guns. That flashy screen is the devil's work."
And that's the real problem. Guns are yesterday's toys. Video games are tomorrow's. Adults, by and large, get guns, they do not get video games. Yeah, sure we all spew the statistic about how the gamer population is aging, but seriously, those are people who play zork, king's quest, and fucking tetris (or their modern equivalents). Just like people protested the waltz, the novel, the TV, and Elvis Presley, the curmudgeony old folks can ta
Re:Mixed up priorities (Score:2)
Whoah there buddy. I think you're generalizing bigtime there. I don't think tetris players are even considered gamers. That's like calling Solitaire players gamers. A lot of us older gamers (i.e. those of us who at least grew up with Coleco and Atari and C64, and went on from there) still play the latest twitch games
Re:Mixed up priorities (Score:2)
Re:Yeah! It's not like video games really train gu (Score:2)
Learned violence (virtual) that exists in games
and
Taught violence (movies music etc.) that shows violence to the influential in an often positive and often romaticized light.
Why try and ban one version while embracing the other?
Re:Yeah! It's not like video games really train gu (Score:1)
Yeah! It's not like written books train guys! (Score:5, Insightful)
Wait, you mean, they do!?
Hmm... maybe this isn't as stupid a law as most knee-jerk Slashdotters want to think it is.
Written books with diagrams and pictures aren't like word-of-mouth. They're visual. You don't listen about how a character beats up a hooker - you internally visualize the character and watch them to beat up a hooker with your own hands.
These book-burning laws aren't as ridiculous as most Slashdotters want to believe.
((I *do* hope the moderators pick up on the sarcasm here...))
Re:Yeah! It's not like written books train guys! (Score:2)
The grandparent said that games are used in military training, ergo the arguement that "games teach kids to kill" is valid. The parent mocked this by pointing out, correctly, that the army also uses written instructions to train people to kill - essentially showing that any arguements based on what training tools the military uses are inherently ridiculous.
If you can't understand why that's funny and insightful,
Yeah! It's not like american football train guys! (Score:1, Insightful)
But it's still more violent.
And then there are all of those future slashdotters. What do they do when the football players join the army and kill people or start asking for tech support? Why, they play violent video games. As you can see, people who play violent
Re:Yeah! It's not like video games really train gu (Score:1, Insightful)
They're pretty ridiculous, I'm afraid. The fact is, the vast majority of people who've beaten up hookers - to use your example - haven't played Grand Theft Auto, and the vast majority of people who've played Grand Theft Auto haven't beaten up hookers. While lack of evidence is not evidence of lack, the lack of a clear causal link in this case makes the assertions of those supporting this legislation spurious.
John Stewart's comments [youtube.com] fo
I wouldn't call those games (Score:1)
Yes and the Army uses books and blackboards, too!
The "games" the military uses are gun range simulators and situational drills aimed specifically at breaking down the natural resistance to killing. These are nothing like the stuff you can get in a store for 50$. Never mind that you don't learn how to kill in a game. Plenty of videogamers can't even hit a barn when t
Re:I wouldn't call those games (Score:1)
Is there in fact a natural resistance to killing? People kill bugs without thinking every day. It's ridiculous to explain the tendency to not kill to a "natural resistance to killing". Killing takes more effort the bigger the creature you want to kill. Additionally, there are consequences to killing.
Re:I wouldn't call those games (Score:1)
Re:I wouldn't call those games (Score:1)
Re:I wouldn't call those games (Score:2)
Re:I wouldn't call those games (Score:1)
Re:I wouldn't call those games (Score:2)
It's pupose was no different from recruiting billboards or an "America's Army Sport Drink" - just an effective way to advertise.
Then let's do something (Score:1)
Re:Then let's do something (Score:2)
Stuck in the 80's (Score:1)
It's easy to tell when a person talking about video games has no idea what they're talking about. They talk about "scoring points." The 1980's called. They want their game and joke format back.
DAMMIT PEOPLE!! (Score:1)
Re:DAMMIT PEOPLE!! (Score:1)
Re:DAMMIT PEOPLE!! (Score:2)
But we do NOT pay you taxes to do parenting. If that's what we wanted, wouldn't it be easier and quicker to provide a state-sponsored nanny/babysitter service, so those poor parents don't have to actually parent? At least that would give the good parents the option of parenting for themselves, free from stupid restrictions like this.
A 12-year-old won't neces
Call Tiger! (Score:2)
Someone call Tiger Woods and let him know that he'd be better if he played more videogames and spent less time on the course..
Looks like the next Eddie VanHalen will come from the 'Guitar Hero' playing basements and not the garage.
Re:Call Tiger! (Score:1)
Onscreen caption: By the honorable
From the top, people: (Score:2)
The best a game can do is desensitize a person, and I've yet to meet anyone who compares snapping an animal's neck (or similiar method of execution) akin to completing a video game's mission.
Re:From the top, people: (Score:2)
Exactly. If you want to learn how to kill, go to the army. There you will learn to fire actual firearms and take into account such little details as recoil, ballistic arc and sight calibr
La. Laws in context (Score:2)
Re:La. Laws in context (Score:1)
Re:La. Laws in context (Score:1)
Re:La. Laws in context (Score:2)
Re:La. Laws in context (Score:2)
Los Angeles? Yeah, they could use some water, what with them complaining about drought every other year :)
-b.
Thank God . . . . (Score:1, Flamebait)
. . . . that rising ocean levels will wipe out the majority of Louisiana. [usatoday.com] Hopefully, the majority of these politicos & bible bangers will remain on the coast to pray against the next category 5 hurricane. To bad we have to lose Nawlins (great town), but after all, gotta break a few eggs (free speech? free market? freedom of expression? sane lawmaking?) to make an omlet (bans on harsh video games, ridiculous abortion laws that are unconstitutional before they are signed into law, an apalling t
s/defend/rationalize (Score:2)
Their rationalizations are as follows:
Violence is Golden. (Score:1)
So it's not alright to play a virtual good/bad guy and kill people, but it IS alright to watch movies and TV shows that p
BUT... (Score:1)
Different?
Oh yes, sorry, my mistake...no-one gets hurts playing video games...bad games...Oh, games allow you to think for yourself and how you do things for yourself...Yes, very bad...
Army ok, games not? Huh? You keep doing what your told and shooting who we tell you too...That's right...good boys...
Guidry is helping the terrorists! (Score:1)