Pennsylvania Legislature Looking Into Video Game Violence

Pennsylvania Legislature Looking Into Video Game Violence

July 11, 2007


A Pennsylvania legislator has expanded a state-mandated study into the effects of violent video games on children. 

As reported by the Times-Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA), Rep. Karen Boback (R, left) succeeded in amending a resolution to include other forms of media in addition to games. H.R. 94 was approved last week by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a 196-0 vote.

The resolution authorizes the Joint State Government Commission to begin the study and requires a report back to legislators within 180 days.

GP: It's unclear where the PA legislature hopes to go with this resolution. In some ways Rep. Boback's amendment actually seemss to undercut the authority of the previous version by removing subpoena power from the study group.

Interestingly, Rep. Boback's amendment also acknowledges the constitutional difficulties encountered by video game legislation in other states.

Comments

She looks like she had to many happy pills
Hears how we fix this. Young people… VOTE!!!!!!!!! In the ‘04 presidential election the voter turnout for 18 to 20somthings was ABYSMAL and it’s even WORSE for local elections!!! Start getting active and MAKE YOU’RE VOICE HEARD!!! This goes for all elections from school board to police chef to mayor to governor to congress to president!!! OH MY GOD IT’S THAT EASY SO F#!*$^# DO IT!!!!!!!!

P.S. If any of you are not going to vote in the ‘08 Presidential elections PLEASE just vote for Obama or Nader so you can do SOME good with you apathetic life.
If This Is The Second Time Through They Are Sure To Find Something Most Likely To There Joy Because They Are Sure To Be More Selective On There Study Groups, Most Likely Using Good Taxpayer Dollars For The Sake Of Picking The More Mentally Fragile And Unstable Or By Simply Putting Emphasis On The Moments Of Frustration All Gamers Occasionally Go Through Where You Just Want To hrow The Controller Into The Wall.
If you don't want them doing this, then just email them, oy.
Oh crap as a Pennsylvanian this makes me sad.
Great we can waste more taxpayer money on a red harring.
Don't give this bill more weight than it deserves. The task force is to determine if further study or current assumptions warrant more scrutiny. The most research you can expect is in medical journals and getting professional opinions. No new studies will be funded unless this task force determines the need. Then another bill has to be drafted....
@Gameboy

"So they are expanding the research to all media?"

Apparently not. While the amendment acknowledges that other media *may* have an equal influence, and also notes that other media has equally voluntary ratings systems (and that violence across the board has increased), the bill *still* only requires them to look into violent video games.
So they are expanding the research to all media? Books, television, and movies are being included? I think I'm gonna have a heart attack. They actually want to do somewhat decent research?

@ GoodRobotUs

I don't think it has a 6 month time frame, but instead has to report its results up to that point. Its kinda stupid to look at the results seriously before the research is done, but they are politicians.
I'm drafting e-mails and snail-mail letters to the legislators in my district about this, but I'm going to hold off on sending them until I see what exactly they're up to.

Paranoia levels rising
Does this lady look hungry to you? I mean, for power or maybe human flesh? She has a crazy look about her. Just saying, why is it that we never get any good looking politicians trying to legislate videogames. I am begining to think that a conspiracy is afoot. We need an expert of this... call you know who!

(Note: I would comment seriously on this but by now I am sick and tired of repeating myself. Not even an attack from Thompson can get me riled up. I am numb. THis attack on videogames is wearing me out.)
Maybe an off topic but MSN has an interview with Mike Gallagher:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19701434/
Makes me wonder if they weren't finding what they wanted to find....
"succeeded in amending a resolution to include other forms of media in addition to games"

Well, it's a first step... at least some of them are acknowledging that games are no different than other types of media.

I suspect the push to include things like movies resulted in an equal push by "other media" to remove the subpoena requirements...

Interesting... although "other media" is discussed as a "concern", the committee is still only required to examine the effects of violent games...

I also note that they acknowledge the legislative difficulties with regard to the first amendment, and make note that other bills have been struck down.
I don't mind the investigation, as such, but putting a time limit on it of 6 months is a but dumb, it says to me that they are more interested in getting a quick 'off the cuff' analysis that doesn't go into too much depth.

It's never good when you are rushing things just so that it is you personally who takes the credit, rather than doing it thoroughly in order to ensure the results are accurate.
Why do people insist on looking into the effects of video game violence. By now it's pretty obvious the effects vary from person to person. Stable and...Not so stable people.
My Uncle was involved in the campaign of a candidate who ran against her last year and I happen to know for a fact that Karen B will be a 1 term politician. At the polls she called all the blue collar employees of Proctor and Gamble Factory "Mindless Millionaires". (That happens to be the largest employer in her region.) What is the rule for politicians? Always assume you are being taped. She was, and doesn't have a clue! (Too many happy pills). Another campaign now has it and it'll come out right before the next election. This legislation will never get done before she is out and her replacement will not waste his time on such foolishness as this.
Big government nanny state!

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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