Editorial by Vagabond 'Tony' Carter
Rep. Jim Matheson (D) of Utah
It’s one of those things that seems as if it shouldn’t require a law, that should be just plain good sense. But Utah Rep. Jim Matheson(D) apparently feels otherwise. On the coattails of gun control law talks in the wake of tragedies this old topic raises its head again in the halls of Congress with Matheson’s introduction of “H.R.287 – Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act”. This bill, link here, would make the enforcement of the suggested age of the ESRB rating on video games a matter of law.
So let me see if I follow this right, Jim.
You don’t trust either the parents of children, or the sales persons to make intelligent choices as to what they will buy for / sell to kids? Last I checked a salesperson has every right to refuse a sale, and must justify that refusal to their boss. Last I checked it was a parents responsibility and right to choose and monitor their children’s choice in entertainment. I must be wrong – it’s the governments right. That right Jim?
Here’s a thought, Jim, instead of trying to legislate a morality that exists only from your point of view, let’s let the American people make choices, mistakes if they need to, and learn from them on their own. Let’s not burden the local GameStop with having to enforce a law (which an annoyed parent will simply bypass anyway by getting the game for Junior) and instead empower them to do as they have always been able to do: make up their own minds as to whom they will sell what to.
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The law, as you point out, is unenforceable. Most game purchases are already made with credit cards, by the kids’ parents. How exactly did he intend this law to be enforced?
This is one of those bills that a politician proposes to make it look like he’s doing something constructive, when in fact he is doing nothing useful at all. The fact that Congressman Matheson bought into the debunked myth that violent computer games are responsible for the sharp increase in mass murder shows that he either has no idea what’s going on around him, or doesn’t actually care so long as he looks good to the casual observer – because it’s easier than getting on board with comprehensive assault weapons bans and having to face down the NRA. Another sign Matheson isn’t paying attention is that the NRA lost nearly all the races it backed in the last election, and is no longer the powerhouse on Capitol Hill it once was. Nobody wants to take anybody’s guns away, but the overwhelming majority of Americans want gun law reform, regardless of party affiliation.
So this is a shadow play, and a response to a political situation with respect to the power of the NRA that no longer actually exists.
Nail head, meet Hammer, courtesy Gene Turnbow. I quite agree. Like much our Government has done recently this is puppet theater. Like the TSA… in the end the dance does nothing to combat the actual problem. If you object to that let me ask you just how many terrorists have actually been caught since these increased measures? Answer, none. Every arrest made by the TSA since has been of civilians or others trying to “test” the system.
Getting back onto topic your observations are fair ones, though the American public and media also need to know what an “Assault Style” weapon is… The term literally means nothing more than “it looks military”. This obfuscation of fact by the Mainstream Media is part of the problem as well. A public that is given poor facts, will vote according to those poor facts.