Reminder: Commonwealth Club Video Game Debate March 17

Just a friendly reminder that the Commonwealth Club will host a panel featuring California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco); George Rose, the Executive VP and Chief Public Policy Officer for Activision Blizzard; and Michael McConnell, the Director of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

The trio will debate whether playing violent video games leads to violence in the real world. They will also discuss at length AB 1179, the notorious anti-game legislation that was signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2005 but never put into effect because of a court-ordered injunction. Now the case is before the Supreme Court.

The debate will take place this Thursday (March 17) at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco () at 6:00 PM local time. More information from the Commonwealth Club follows:

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.

Panelists at this debate include California State Senator Leland Yee, who was the original sponsor of the so-called violent video game bill that is now before the Supreme Court; George Rose, the Executive VP and Chief Public Policy Officer for Activision Blizzard Inc.; and Michael McConnell, the Director of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Location: SF Club Office, 595 Market Street., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6:00 p.m. program
Cost: $12 CW members, $20 non-members, $7 students (with valid IDs)

You can purchase your tickets here

Details on a live telecast of the debate are available at commonwealthclub.org.