|
Last month, the Illinois House of Representatives passed the bill
91-19. Because the legislation was amended in the Senate, the
legislation now returns to the House for concurrence.
"I'm pleased the General Assembly recognizes the importance of
this common-sense legislationso quickly," Gov. Blagojevich said.
"What might be entertaining for a 20-year-old is not necessarily
healthy for a 10-year-old. We know from recent research that kids
who play violent video games can become more aggressive and less
able to control their behavior. The Safe Games Illinois Act will
protect our children from violent and sexually explicit video games,
making parents' jobs easier and our children's lives healthier. I'm
optimistic that the House of Representatives will concur with the
Senate and I'll have an opportunity to sign legislation making
Illinois the first state in the nation to keep adult games out of
kids' hands."
"I am very pleased that HB 4023 passed the Senate today," said
Demuzio, the Senate sponsor. "We have worked very hard to address
the issues of committee members and organizations like the retail
merchants who have worked with us in coming up with a bill that has
received support from both parties. We need to do all we can to
protect our children as well as inform concerned parents regarding
the potential harm some of these games can have."
The Safe Games Illinois Act,
House Bill 4023, bans the rental and sale of violent and
sexually explicit video games to children younger than 18. Retailers
who violate the ban commit a petty offense and face a fine of
$1,000. The bill also requires retailers to label violent and
sexually explicit video games, similar to the "Parental Advisory"
label found on music CDs, and to post signs explaining the video
game rating system. A retailer's failure to properly label games or
place proper signs is punishable by a $500 fine for the first three
violations and a $1,000 fine for every subsequent violation.
In December, Gov. Blagojevich launched a website for parents,
www.safegamesIllinois.org,
where they can learn about the effects of violent and sexually
explicit video games, report inappropriate video games, and report
Illinois retailers that are selling such games to minors.
The governor also created the Safe Games Illinois Task Force to
gather information on the effects of violent and sexually explicit
video games, develop strategies for parents, and give
recommendations to the governor.
Various studies demonstrate the negative impact playing violent
and sexually explicit video games has on minors. One such study,
completed in 2003 by four experts, including Douglas Gentile from
the National Institute on Media and the Family, concluded that
adolescents who expose themselves to greater amounts of video game
violence were more hostile, reported getting into arguments with
teachers more frequently, were more likely to be involved in
physical fights and performed more poorly in school.
[to top of second column in this article]
 |
 The National Institute of Media and the Family recently found
that 92 percent of all children ages 2 to 17 play video games, and
the average child spends nine hours each week playing them. The
institute also found that 87 percent of preteen and teenage boys
play games rated "M" for "mature" by the Entertainment Software
Ratings Board. M-rated games often contain realistic depictions of
human injury and death, mutilation of body parts, rape, sex,
profanity, and drug, alcohol and tobacco consumption.
Even though mature games are labeled with the Entertainment
Software Ratings Board's "M" rating, there are no legal mechanisms
in place preventing children from buying or renting them. Unlike the
motion picture industry, the video game industry has not developed
an effective self-regulation system that keeps adult material out of
the hands of minors.
In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission found that 69 percent of
teenagers were able to purchase M-rated video games, giving them
easy access to images many adults would consider offensive. The FTC
also found that not only are minors easily purchasing violent and
sexually explicit games; 10 of the 11 companies it studied produced
at least one marketing document specifically targeting boys under 17
for a violent, M-rated game.
An independent investigation by state Rep. Paul Froehlich,
R-Schaumburg, and the Illinois State Crime Commission found that a
15-year-old boy could purchase "mature"-rated video games
(recommended for children 17 and older) at 11 of the 15 stores he
visited.
Under the Safe Games Illinois Act, "violent" games are defined as
those that include realistic depictions of human-on-human violence
in which the player kills, injures or otherwise causes serious
physical harm to another human, including but not limited to
depictions of death, dismemberment, amputation, decapitation,
maiming, disfigurement, mutilation of body parts or rape. "Sexually
explicit" games are defined as those that the average person --
applying contemporary community standards with respect to minors --
would find are designed to appeal or pander to the prurient interest
and that depict or represent in a manner patently offensive to
minors any of the following: an actual or simulated sexual act or
sexual contact, an actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual
act, or a lewd exhibition of reproductive organs.
[News release from the governor's
office]
 |
