Huzzah! Another gem uncovered! Once again I dive into the Junior Year folder and pull out an example of literary genius. This is a speech that I wrote on video game ratings. I truly am now ready to be a politician after having handled such a delicate subject.

NOT FACT: I got an A because I cracked a joke before I started the speech, which allowed the audience to let their guards down and just enjoy my fun-filled romp through the interesting realm of video game law.
FACT: The joke wasn't that funny, I got an A because I went first.

With the recent anti-video game bills debated by Congress (like Sen. Joe Lieberman's (D-CT) "Family Entertainment Protection Act" (FEPA, S. 2126) it becomes more and more apparent that the U.S Government desires to take control over the responsibility for rating and distributing video games. Proponents of this action, like Senators Brownback (R-Kan) and McCollum (D-Minn.) say that because the ESRB (current game raters) are “run by the gaming industry” they therefore aren’t as effective as outside (AKA government) observers. However, as shown by Kimberly Thompson, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at HSPH and Director of the Kids Risk Project, just because something is government-run doesn’t mean that it is good. The study shows that the MPAA (U.S government-run movie raters) has become more and more lax on their standards. For example: Thompson and co-author Fumie Yokota, formerly a researcher at HSPH, found a significant increase of violence, sex and profanity in films over the last 11 years, suggesting that the MPAA became increasingly more lenient in assigning its age-based movie ratings. Their results suggest that the overall increase arose largely from increases in violent content in films rated PG and PG-13, increases in sexual content in films rated PG, PG-13, and R, and increases in profanity in films rated PG-13 and R. So content that would be considered PG-13 material now, 11 years ago would be more towards an R rating.

On the other hand, Video games are monitored and rated by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board or ESRB. The ESRB is a non-profit organization that provides consumers, especially parents, with accurate and objective information about the age suitability and content of computer and video games so they can make informed purchase decisions. Which pretty much means that the ESRB rates games based on feedback from parents. This system of ratings has worked for 12 years but now some opportunistic politicians (*cough* Hillary Clinton *cough*) are trying to take control over the ESRB and replace it with a government controlled committee. This is best explained by the comic I have put up on the overhead. (Pause for it to be read)

Now, just replace the man from the comic with your everyday out-of touch Senator, like the duo of Lieberman and Clinton, who drafted a bill that would prevent the sale of ‘M’ rated video games. This shows how out-of-touch and ignorant the politicians are on the subject of video games. If they would use some of the $90 million they are using on the research for the bill and look at the Entertainment Software Association’s (ESA) website they would find that 83% of console game buyers are over the M-Rated age of 17. So if they got their wish and removed every game with an M rating they would be alienating well over three fourths of game buyers.

On the Internet there is a website called videogamevoters.com and it is another non-profit organization trying to get rid of the sudden Washington interest in video games. The facts (direct from Craig Anderson, a Ph.D. from Rice University) are clear: Violent crime, particularly among the young, has decreased dramatically since the early 1990s while video games have steadily increased in popularity and use. This shows how the government has no right to interfere with a system that is obviously working.

Luckily there is something that every citizen, that means us, can do about it. On the videogamevoter’s site you can sign up and as their site proudly proclaims: Join the Video Game Voters Network and become a part of the movement that is spreading throughout the gamer community. Computer and video games need to be defended from stringent government regulations, as they continue to be a punching bag for multiple elected officials. Enough is enough! Stand up for games; join the network to ensure that games remain self-regulated.