Representative Diane Franklin (R) wants to charge a 1% tax increase or, sin tax on any Video Games rated Teen-Mature by the ESRB.

The proposed bill  says the monies earned from said tax would be used for “the treatment of mental health conditions associated with exposure to violent video games.”  This is a typical narrow minded way of thinking about the T-M rating as the bill defines a violent video game as “..a video or computer game that has received a rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board of Teen, Mature, or Adult Only.”  However, you have to remember that T-M titles arrive at that rating not solely because of violent imagery as stated by a study conducted by Patrick Ishmael of the Show-Me Institute.

With the T for Teen rating we’d be looking at titles like Dance Central, The Sims, Guitar Hero and more.  None of which display any type of violent imagery.  They are rated as such because of suggestive themes and lyrics used.  Ishmael was quoted as saying “Clearly, the law is poorly crafted. It’s probably unconstitutional anyway since it targets the content of speech.”  A rumored revision of the bill is said to be in progress.

This is a simple scapegoat.  In my humble opinion the parents that allow their seven year old children to play Call of Duty online with a group of adults are the ones to blame.  “Won’t someone PLEEASE think of the CHILDREN!” – Helen Lovejoy.

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Dylan Zellmer

I split time between games journalism and making video games. My love of it’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones), fitness and my family define me otherwise.

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