Once again, violence in video games is a topic for U.S. politics. This time, the battleground for the debate is the U.S. state of Illinois. One politician wants to ban all video games that encourage the player to commit violence.
What’s going on? A representative in the U.S. state of Illinois is looking for a way to ban video games that promote violence throughout the state. The proposal comes from the Democratic politician Marcus C. Evans, Jr., who serves in the state’s House of Representatives.
Why is this a topic? In Illinois, particularly in the major city of Chicago, there are reported issues with car thefts and violent crimes, according to Chicago Sun Times. The Democrat sees one of the causes in violent video games.
A change in the law could make it possible
How is that supposed to work? Apparently, there is a law that would need to be slightly amended. This law concerns the prohibition for retailers to sell video games to minors that contain violent content.
The Democrat likely wants to expand the prohibition to citizens so that these games cannot be sold to anyone. He submitted the documents on Friday, February 19, to the relevant authorities. The so-called “House Bill 3531” would then prohibit retailers throughout the state from selling video games with violent content.
Literally, this concerns games that “allow a user or player to control a character within a video game who is encouraged to commit violence against people, in which the player kills or inflicts serious physical or psychological harm to injure other people or animals.”
The changes also aim to ensure that “offenses” such as car theft in games are also counted as serious harm. In January alone, there were 218 recorded car thefts in and around Chicago.
What does the politician say about this? In an interview with the Sun Times, Evans stated: “The law would prohibit the sale of some of these games that promote these activities, which we suffer from in our communities.” (via Chicago Sun Times)
For retailers who do not comply with this prohibition, a fine of $1,000 would be imposed.
What are the chances for the proposed law? That’s hard to say. In California, a similar measure was rejected in 2011 (via polygon.com). The justification back then was that video games, like films or books, fall under the seal of freedom of speech and free expression.
Violence in games – an eternal topic
Many players will find the discussion familiar. Politicians often link the issues of violence in society to video games like Call Of Duty or Grand Theft Auto.
Especially in the USA, the topic keeps resurfacing:
- In response to accusations regarding lax gun laws in the U.S., the NRA (the American gun lobby) claimed, for example, that video games are the reason for violent acts, not the large number of guns in the population.
- Former U.S. President Donald Trump saw video games as the reason for violent acts.
- After various shooting incidents, games were quickly blamed.
What does science say? Most studies find no direct link between violent depictions in games and actual violence:
- In a study by the American Psychological Association (via polygon.com), it was stated in early 2020 that violence is a complex social problem that cannot simply be attributed to one medium. The study focused on reviewing the most solid scientific studies on the topic that have been conducted since 2015.
- One of the latest studies followed gamers for 10 years and could not establish any compelling link between gaming and violent potential (via heise.de).
- The British nonprofit organization National Literacy Trust also found no connection after surveying over 5,000 youths.
What do you think about the proposed legislation? Do you see games as a possible cause of violence and crime? Or are you getting tired of the discussion?
