Where are these kids getting there money? And the computers/consoles where they can use these games? Don't parents have any responsibilities at all for their own children?!

Hillary thinks she can make a difference! I have to laugh.

You know, it's odd that the same groups who say that music, movies, TV, whatever do not affect children are among the first to want to ban games, certain advertising (Joe Camel comes to mind), words (Merry Christmas by the way).

I have found that illogical hypocrites are best suited to be politicians. Or Dell sales reps.

Parents aren't around 24 hours a day, but they are there to buy the lousy game. Have the balls to say "No!" to your whiny brat and make it stick.

Quit punishing me because you are a weakling when it comes to your darling little one.

Not that I agree with any of this...

But how would this make it harder for you, or inconvenience (punish) you in any way?

Assuming you're over 17, this would have ZERO affect on you...unless you are a parent, in which case, the affect is the gross insult of the government telling you they can raise your own children better than you can.

As and aside....what the hell do you have against Dell sales reps? (he says as he types on his Dell Keyboard into his brand-spanking-new GX520)

Zero effect until they ban the sales completly!

Ok I rarely post here but this is rediculous. If they can say that this infringes on the first amendment rights of video game manufacturers, then this has far reaching implications into other entertainment avenues. Why isnt it a restriction of pornographers' right to free speech if it is limited to adults? Why isnt it a restriction of tobacco companies to market cigarettes to minors? I mean this is rediculous. Heck the FCC should stop meddling in the first amendment rights of the tv producers and let them have free speech.

Ultimately, it would be nice if all parents were good parents but we dont live in a perfect world. If the parents are not responsibly protecting the children, who does the responsibility fall onto? At that point, it is the governments. That is why we have laws protecting minors from pornography and laws that say tobacco companies cannot target minors in their advertisements and promotions. With irresponsible parents and irresponsible video game manufacturers, the government is next in line.

Video game manufacturers could care less about the audience they market too. As long as they get their money, they dont care who its sold too. Same is true of other manufacturers. Look at the movie, Batman Begins. That movie contained images that would be too disturbing for my 7 year old daughter. I being the responsible parent said no. She can watch the cartoons and a couple of the other movies like Batman and Robin but not the one with the penguin (I shudder at the nightmares she would have from that one). But Batman Begins is heavily marketed to my daughter's age group. Its not appropriate for her but still its all about the money.

This is just my rant and may or may not make sense, but I can see no justification for the striking down of this law unless the judge will also strike down pornography laws and other restrictions of free speech.

"If the parents are not responsibly protecting the children, who does the responsibility fall onto? At that point, it is the governments."

NO!

And if so, even at the very least, it should be going after the irresponsible parents, and not the retailers. They are not responsible for properly raising peoples children, and for that matter, niether is it the governments.

If you want to live in a society where the government controls all of our rights regarding what we can view, hear, say, and do, then this is definately the way to go. Otherwise, I'd suggest *much* less government involvement in familly affairs.

So then you would agree with the ideas of pornography for all and anyone can participate in the production of said pornography regardless of age. After all, those laws were also put in place for the protection of children yet they violate the ideas of free speech. As the games get more violent and graphic, there should be restrictions in place on who can buy them. You are not talking about the days of pong and pacman anymore. The vid game manufacturers are pushing the limits more and more and need controls in place.

If the child is legally allowed to buy the video game, why would the government go after the irresponsible parent? The government allows the child to buy a product which really should not be in their hands to begin with, how could they go against the parents for letting them play it. The parents would be violating the free speech of the children. If the laws do not allow for the games to be blocked by law, ultimately, the parent cannot say anything because if you got a wise enough child, they could sue for protection of first amendment rights. (Thankfully, most children are not bright enough to contact the evil organization of scumbags known as the ACLU).

I'm not going to re-quote and refute every point you make, but a case has already been made and proven in other societies for exactly what I've stated.

I am @ work now, so cannot bring up the exact statistics in question, hopefully you are not, so feel free to google it.

Here's something to look up:

Statistics comparing alcoholism in the USA vs. The Bahamas (or any other country where "if you can see over the bar, you're old enough to drink")(Percentages, not total amount. Obviously there are a lot more folks in the US than in the Bahamas)

Statistics comparing child-pornography rates in the US to any country with much laxer restrictions on nudity and sex.

I guarantee you, that aside from 1 or 2 exceptions that the rates will be LOWER in countries where it is left to the parents, and not the government.

So who gets to decide what a child should and should not have access to? Extreme examples like Porn and Alcohol will very quickly trickle down to music, books, and other media.

You? That insane b****, Hillary? Hell no. I will decide what my children can do. I don't need or want the US to force me to be a responsible parent, I do that fine on my own, thanks.

I agree, my thoughts are why don't we work on as a country to help the hard working entry level employee that hase to struggle like that so they can have more time with their family and take care of their other needs other then finacial cause there's more to being a parent then just paying for them cause they'll end up having issues later in life due to being raising theirselves with the help of friends and others in there life not the mention the tv, and any other infleunce around. If we can lower and hopefully get rid of the GREED in the world then we might just evolve into a better society and be able to save ourselves from the apporching end lurking in the nearby distance..........

Most of you are saying that the parents are 100% to blame because they're not taking 100% responsibility. If parents were able to have 100% responsibility, that would mean that there'd be no need for schools because parents would teach at home. It doesn't work that way, though, because parents must WORK to provide for their families. That means they can't watch the kids ALL THE TIME.

I had very responsible parents growing up, yet I ended up doing stuff they told me not to. It happens constantly. And don't tell me that these games don't affect kids. I took a 9-year-old boy shopping for clothes yesterday with my Rotary club, and he started telling me about all these violent video games he plays and then tells me he's been suspended twice this year for fighting! Plus, he said he'd beat up anyone who picked on me because I'm in a wheelchair. He was on this shopping trip because he lives with his grandma and has very little money. I'm sure his grandma works hard to be a responsible caregiver, but she can't do EVERYTHING and I doubt she knows much about video games.

Try taking the focus of yourselves and the good parents you might be or think you might be and, look around you. I mean, sure, a law isn't going to fix everything...murder is illegal and it still happens, but does that mean it shouldn't be illegal? Should it be legal for kids to buy pr0n? I should hope not!

If a parent approves of a certain game, all they have to do is go with their child to buy it. Why can't they show responsibility that way?

"Most of you are saying that the parents are 100% to blame because they're not taking 100% responsibility. If parents were able to have 100% responsibility, that would mean that there'd be no need for schools because parents would teach at home. It doesn't work that way, though, because parents must WORK to provide for their families. That means they can't watch the kids ALL THE TIME."
Parent's don't have 100% responsibility. They have 200%, but we have argued about this in the PS3 thread.

http://www.betanews.com/...tal_Controls/1133208921

"Try taking the focus of yourselves and the good parents you might be or think you might be and, look around you. I mean, sure, a law isn't going to fix everything...murder is illegal and it still happens, but does that mean it shouldn't be illegal? Should it be legal for kids to buy pr0n? I should hope not!

If a parent approves of a certain game, all they have to do is go with their child to buy it. Why can't they show responsibility that way?"
The thing is, it shouldn't be up to retailers to say "No", it should be up to parents to say "No". If a parent allows a 9 year old child to play violent games like GTA, then it's their choice. If not... well... 'Nuff said.

EDIT: And the thing is, where is a 9 year old kid going to get 100 AUD (dunno about the price in USD :P) for GTA, without parent approval? Would be pretty hard, I think.

"The thing is, it shouldn't be up to retailers to say "No", it should be up to parents to say "No". If a parent allows a 9 year old child to play violent games like GTA, then it's their choice. If not... well... 'Nuff said."

That doesn't make sense. Here in the U.S., most movie theaters are not suppose to allow kids under 17 into a rated R movie. Retailers can't sell pr0n to anyone under 18. Why not the same for violent video games?

"And the thing is, where is a 9 year old kid going to get 100 AUD (dunno about the price in USD :P) for GTA, without parent approval? Would be pretty hard, I think."

Well, considering many kids have they're gaming consoles in their room, do you really think they all tell their parents what game they're really buying? In the case of the 9-year-old I was talking about, I doubt the Grandma even knows what GTA is. Remember, some parents trust their kids to be honest...many of these parents don't necessarily keep up-to-date on games.

kberg31974: I have to disagree with you. PARENTS SHOULD BE the one to be blamed and has to be fully responsible for what their children's actions. Why bring them in to this world if they don't have time for them? Watching them 24/7 would be ridiculous. Society? Environment where they are surrounded to be blamed? I have a 16 & 13 yrs old and they're nothing a like those kids nor kid you've mentioned in your statements. Violent are part of today's culture. In media, books, toys, all varieties. It's up to parents to be able to explain to their children whats the different between virtual and reality. Parents are the one to be blamed. Schools are not responsible for these topics and these subject will never end.

lol kids have friends and older siblings who are age to buy games this law is pointless and further proves parents are not being parents anymore...quite honestly I'd be more worried about my kids listening to the next pop sensation who struts around in nothing more then a piece of cloth and makes it seem its ok to shake your a** to get everyone to notice you... imo

I also don't see the legality of this ruling. I really don't think such a law infringes on the free speech rights of the Video Game industry any more than certain media content is not allowed to be sold to minors.

On the other hand: i wish the courts had a clause in the constitution that they could strike down any ineffective laws, that do nothing except make some people feel good and make other people look good, while wasting tax payer money...

Personally, I guess I need to see the part of the Constitution that says men, women, and businesses.
Busineses have no 'rights'. Do they vote? Pull jury duty? Get drafted in wartime?

Then sit down and shut up.

First Amendment rights of business indeed...

"Supporters of the ban argue that children are harmed by the exposure to such games and say something should be done so parents do not have to be concerned about their children purchasing video games with questionable material without permission."

Supporters of the ban need to worry more about their own children and less about mine. I can raise them myself, without your help, just fine, thankyouverymuch.

I do not appreciate my tax dollars being spent to cover the assess of irresponsible parents. If the parents choose to be irrecsponsible, make 'em pay for it in fines, don't make me pay for it in taxes.

Fortunately, the courts are playing their role as common sense when states get legislation-happy. Common sense says that this is just populist nonsense. Legislators care very little about media like this; it's just an easy target to look concerned to their voting constituency. "See, we tried to make it easier to be a parent, but the courts stopped us. Thanks for your vote."

im from chicago and im glad this didnt go through. This wouldnt solve anything anyways.

Rubish. Yet another attempt on the politicians part to try to gain votes. How about this, tell the parents to learn PARENTING!!!

The need for a strict rating system is needed, however the weight of all this should fall on the parents shoulders.

Just like for movies. Amen.

Video Game banning should not replace parents who are too lazy to watch their children. If they ban Videos, its not going to stop the children from attaining the videos, and therefore their "harm and exposure" will continue, according to the Governor.

I don't agree Video Games cause problems, for one thing, if EVERY kid that played these types of games, had problems, then I could see it, but as a result, its only a select few that are affected.

I grew up playing video games, granted they were limited by technology factors, and I didn't see them in full glory as they are now, but I do have an imagination, and I don't have a problem with nightmares nor do I want to go out and pretend I am a commando or Doom marine or Sonice the hedge hog.. but I do dream of being Barney, but that's another story.

I really don't think that a global ban is going to solve the problem. Parents need to quit complaining that Games, videos, music, and toys are to blame. Its the parents job to be parents, not blame a device for causing misbehaviour.

Dungeon keeper! Wade through the pools of blood as you send limbs and bodyparts flying from your human foes! The reaper has commeth!

Though truthfully...I think games like Doom3 are probably worse than Dungeon Keeper and DK2. They were sort of comical...almost. Playing the "evil guy" was fun for many people, though I never really got into the habit of abusing my imps...

DK2 rules! I loved that game. I did abuse my imps.. I use to call them nasty names, and would save my game at certain points just to abuse them some more!!!

I liked the part of the "sadist" :) But its not reality.