GameCyte Soliciting Questions for Sen. Leland Yee

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GameCyte Soliciting Questions for Sen. Leland Yee

May 7, 2008

GameCyte has scored a video interview with California State Sen. Leland Yee (D), and is soliciting questions for Yee from readers.

The Senator, a child psychologist and frequent critic of video game violence, is the architect of California's 2005 video game law, which was overturned by a U.S. District Court judge last year. California has appealed the decision. From GameCyte:

In the interests of stimulating mature discussion about video game violence, GameCyte contacted the offices of California State Senator Leland Yee, an outspoken critic of Rockstar and the ESRB — and received a rather unique opportunity. Want to know if the Senator really saw GTA IV before denouncing it? How Senator Yee feels about current game regulation? What he thinks adults should be able to play? Just ask.

GameCyte readers and fellow gaming journalists are invited to pose questions which the Senator will answer on camera next week, the resulting video to be available here and freely distributed to other interested game publications.

GP: If you want to suggest a question for Sen. Yee, you should jump over to GameCyte...

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Comments

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight - May 7, 2008 at 8:29 am -0500

Someone needs to ask him how he feels about the movie industry's lack of enforcement of their R rating.

Submitted by Keith K - May 7, 2008 at 8:33 am -0500

There's plenty I'd like to ask people LIKE Leland Yee.. but as a Canadian, Leland Yee himself is irrelevant to me.

I'd be curious to know how he thinks he is helping his constituents or his state/country by trying to rob them of their first amendment rights.

Submitted by Monkeythumbs - May 7, 2008 at 8:37 am -0500

WHAT... is your name?

WHAT... is your quest?

WHAT... is your opinion of legally enforcing movie and DVD ratings?

AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

Submitted by GameCyte Soliciting Questions for Sen. Leland Yee - May 7, 2008 at 8:40 am -0500

[...] wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptGameCyte has scored a video interview with California State Sen. Leland Yee (D), and is soliciting questions for Yee from readers. The Senator, a child psychiatrist and frequent critic of video game violence, is the architect of California’s 2005 video game law, which was overturned by a U.S. District Court judge last year. California has appealed the decision. From GameCyte: In the interests of stimulating mature discussion about video game violence, GameCyte contacted the offices of California State Senator Leland Yee, an outspoken critic of Rockstar and the ESRB — and received a rather unique opportunity. Want to know if the Senator really saw GTA IV before denouncing it? How Senator Yee feels about current game regulation? What he thinks adults should be able to play? Just ask. [...]

Submitted by Aliasalpha - May 7, 2008 at 8:54 am -0500

Perhaps the shortest & most important question is: "Dude, WTF????"

Slightly longer ones would be "Exactly which studies prove a link between games & violence & who were they written by?". Frankly I think that's the most important question, if he can't answer he should sit down & shut the hell up.

Also, they should ask him if he's managed to shag that Kate chick in GTA4, she's still thinking of me as "A friend".

Ooh or maybe they could ask if he's seen the mission where you murder Jack Thompson, that mission DOES exist doesn't it? Jacky wouldn't lie would he?

Submitted by Rhade - May 7, 2008 at 9:10 am -0500

"Are you prepared to issue a public apology to your constituents, the ESRB, Rockstar, taxpayers, and responsible gamers at large if another sufficiently funded and executed study concludes that there is no palpable link between video games and aberrant (or 'violent') behavior?

And also sir, Considering your background as a child psychiatrist, do you have any comments regarding the psychotropic drug treatments that are quite frequently prescribed to the individuals who exhibit massive violent outbursts, perpetrate school shootings, and commit infanticide?

In closing, permit me to add.. "You are a douche clown." That is all, I thank you for your time, Senator."

Submitted by Tyler Baumbarger - May 7, 2008 at 9:10 am -0500

@Alias:
It kind of exists. There is a lawyer who is considered a moral crusader. But he never says the line, 'Guns don't kill people, video games do.' Or at least he didn't to me. And I held the gun on him for a good five minutes hoping he would say it.

Submitted by Austin Lewis - May 7, 2008 at 9:14 am -0500

Dear Mr Yee,
I went to pick up my GTA IV about a week back, and was asked for my ID (totally unreasonable, mind you, I'm old enough no one should ID me ever.), which I promptly, though grudgingly, presented. I got my game, rated M, and went home to play it.

I went to the movie theater the other day, at 2330, to see a movie. I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which had full frontal MALE nudity, nipples exposed, etc, etc. It was, obviously, rated R. While watching, I had a group of insufferable 13 year old children sitting in front of me who would not shut the hell up. Their parents were nowhere in sight. I talked to the usher (a friend of mine, as I go see two movies a week minimum), and he ejected all 5 kids, after about an hour and 10 minutes of the movie.

Tell me: Which side let down the children? Gamestop, where my ID was checked by a man who knew me, or the movie theater, where 5 kids bought tickets to an R rated movie when they were OBVIOUSLY too young?

Submitted by Austin Lewis - May 7, 2008 at 9:14 am -0500

Please note, this story is not anecdotal, but representative of the problem. Theater's don't have to, and often don't, check ID. Game stores often do.

Submitted by AdamasDraconis - May 7, 2008 at 9:14 am -0500

"Mr. Yee. Admist all the controversy surrounding video games, could you please tell me just what you are actually hoping to achieve?
Is it the protection of children from violence? If it is, then there are many other and more effective ways to do that. If it is the Glamorization of violence, then why not take to task the movie studios, TV networks, music studios etc... as well?
What do you think about the fact that there have been 9 attempts to ban or censor video games. And they have all been stricken down on constitutional grounds as violations of the First Amendment?"

Do I need to send this to Gamecyte or will they get it here?

Personally I just think he's doing the bandwagon thing for his career.

Submitted by Rhade - May 7, 2008 at 9:19 am -0500

And also sir, Considering your background as a child psychiatrist, do you have any comments regarding the psychotropic drug treatments that are quite frequently prescribed to the individuals WHO LATER, exhibit massive violent outbursts, perpetrate school shootings, and commit infanticide?

Wtf do I have to do for an edit button?

Submitted by Austin Lewis - May 7, 2008 at 10:10 am -0500

@Rhade
What WOULD you do for an edit button?

Also,
What Would you do for a Klondike bar?

Submitted by Jon Kanders - May 7, 2008 at 10:48 am -0500

"were you born an uninformed pompous douchebag or did it take years or hard work and dedication?"

"what does JT's wang taste like?'

Submitted by Loudspeaker - May 7, 2008 at 10:55 am -0500

An excellent question would be, "You've continually stated a link between video game violence and violence in society. Would you please state and cite your sources where you found these links?" another would be, "How many California voters have asked you, in writing, to persue this action?"

Those questions press on his integrity as a senator for the state of California.

Whatever questions are asked they need to be objective.

Submitted by gameman9 - May 7, 2008 at 11:55 am -0500

My question: Why are you a douchebag?

Submitted by PHOENIXZERO - May 7, 2008 at 1:19 pm -0500

If you ask about the studies, prepare for him to reply with mentioning the AMA study which one of the people in charge later came out on GP and said the findings were being twisted and misused... Or something like that.

Submitted by Iliad - May 7, 2008 at 2:11 pm -0500

Well I think either way, its a step in the right direction, although it remains to be seen how he actually handles our questions and the selection of them, they might intentionally pick ones that he can answer, or pick immature questions he can make an example of, or just in general ones he can easily argue against.

Anyways this is what I asked, im at work so it was just something I typed up real quick

"Mr Yee. My name is Timothy Anderson, I am 19 years old and reside in Minneapolis Minnesota.

I, as well as my friends and girlfriend, have been playing violent video games for the larger portion of my life and neither I, nor any of those whom I associate with, have ever been in any trouble with the law to any extent other than perhaps a parking ticket, and certainly no violent offenses of any kind to speak of.

Now I know this is not neccasarily evidence of anything sir, and its probably something many others will/have written in other questions to you, but I thought it was important to establish.

My question is simply, have you read, in detail, the so called studies that attempt to establish a link whatsoever between violent video games and the increased aggresion and/or desensitization of or to violent behavior?

If so, have you read the book Grand Theft Childhood? The book in which two harvard graduates conduct a large scale study (and one in my opinion much more proper, scientifically speaking and without a clear bias) That shows that not only is their no evidence showing such a correlation but to some extent, actually shows the oposite to be true.

And If you have, what were your thoughts on the book, its authors, and the way they conducted their study?

Thank you for your time sir."

Submitted by Iliad - May 7, 2008 at 2:14 pm -0500

I should have fixed it up a bit more before submission, they dont have an edit button either.

Submitted by GRIZZAM 512 - May 7, 2008 at 2:18 pm -0500

This sounds good.

Submitted by Arimer - May 7, 2008 at 2:42 pm -0500

Why can politicians do things ten times worse than whats in this game and get away with a slap on the wrist and giving themselves raises?

That would be my question.

Submitted by Alex - May 7, 2008 at 2:57 pm -0500

I left some questions for the Senator. Hopefully, I'll get some answers...

Submitted by gs2005 - May 7, 2008 at 5:36 pm -0500

Leland Yee has already proven that facts don't matter compared to his agenda.

Color me unimpressed-he's still a greater danger to the video game industry than Johnny Bruce Thompson ever will be. He will dance around the issues (as he has in the past) that he doesn't agree with, but will stick to his beliefs and he will not drop his appeal of his failed "nanny-state" legislation, while somehow endorsing first amendment rights for college newspapers.

Meanwhile, the state of Kah-lee-phone-eeya will lose $300K due to his bad behavior to the video game industry for fighting such unconstitutional legislation.

"So Yee, how does it feel to have to keep fighting your unconstitutional California law to censor video games up to the appeals court since you could not get it approved at the local level? Are you prepared to waste more taxpayer dollars to get it to the supreme court of the USA if necessary? What do you know that MULTIPLE Federal judges do not, concerning first amendment rights for video game media and the constitution?"

Submitted by TBoneTony - May 8, 2008 at 8:50 am -0500

For me, I would love an AO rated game, but NOT at the expence to the Videogame Industry loosing money for a game that they could not sell because of the AO rating.

That is the real difference between you and me Sen Yee, I respect the hard work that Videogame Developers, Publishers, Console manufactures and the ESRB.

It is clear that the longer you try to hold onto your bias beliefs about Videogames making kids go out and kill people or that you want an AO rating for certain games will never chance the fact that you Senator have NO RESPECT for the Videogame Industry.

Re:

Submitted by Porter - September 1, 2008 at 5:51 pm -0500

I think you are totally right here. Play games