Commonwealth Club Deathmatch: Leland Yee, George Rose

It might be a deathmatch at The Commonwealth Club March 17 when George Rose, Executive VP and Chief Public Policy Officer at Activision Blizzard, and Leland Yee, California State Senator (and San Francisco mayoral candidate), get together with Michael McConnell, Director of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. The roundtable discussion will be moderated by John Diaz, Editorial Page Editor for the San Francisco Chronicle.

The roundtable (debate?), which starts at 6:00 PM, tackles the thorny topic of video games, children and the California law before currently the Supreme Court. While Lee and Rose will argue their respective positions, McConnell will detail the constitutionality of the law (and perhaps) give an insight in how the Supreme Court might tackle the complex free speech issues of the case.

Here's the teaser:

"Do violent video games present a danger to national safety? Should selling them be restricted, as with pornography? Critics argue that there is a link between children's exposure to violent video games and their increased likelihood to commit violent acts. In a time when it is very easy for individuals to carry out senseless acts of violence, the state government has passed a law that bans the sale of video games deemed “ultra-violent” to children under 18. AB 1179 was signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2005 but is not in effect because of an injunction. The Supreme Court has heard arguments and will soon decide how far the government should go to protect the well-being of our children in a case that touches on free speech, national safety and the rights of video game manufacturers and retailers."

Tickets for the event are $12 for Commonwealth Club members, $20 for non-members and $7 for students (with valid IDs). For ticketing information, visit The Commonwealth Club web site.