February 23, 2021 ESA issued a statement on proposed legislation in Illinois.
A wave of car thefts in Chicago last year, of course, led some to point the finger at violent video games. Now, an Illinois lawmaker wants to change a state restriction on selling violent games to minors in a way that prohibits the sale of violent games to anyone – and would define depictions of motor vehicle theft as violence.
After the original publication of this article, a representative of the Entertainment Software Association, the largest gaming industry trade association in the United States, made the following statement: “While our industry understands and shares concerns about what is happening in Chicago, it simply does not there is evidence of a link between interactive entertainment and violence in the real world. We believe that the solution to this complex problem lies in carefully examining the real factors that drive such behaviors, instead of mistakenly blaming video games based solely on speculation. ”
Illinois’ 2012 penal code restricts the sale of violent games to minors, with a $ 1,000 fine as punishment. Democratic state deputy Marcus Evans Jr. introduced the HB3531, which would ban the sale of violent games. The bill would also modify the definition of ‘violent’ to “include psychological harm and child abuse, sexual abuse, animal abuse, domestic violence, violence against women or theft of motor vehicles with a driver or passenger present inside the vehicle when the theft begins. “
There were 1,417 reported car thefts in Chicago in 2020, double the number that occurred a year earlier, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. It is a problem big enough to motivate efforts like Operation Safe Pump, which has a private security company placing guards at local gas stations as an impediment.
“The bill would prohibit the sale of some of these games that promote the activities we are experiencing in our communities,” Evans told the Sun-Times. He adds that games like Grand Theft Auto “have become a big problem in this spectrum. When you compare the two, you see severe similarities with regard to these car thefts. “
The amendment would also revoke a section of the existing penal code that requires retailers to display a two-inch ’18’ label on all violent games. (I must assume that it is disappearing because it was never applied.)
It’s 2021 and here I am, writing about efforts to ban violent video games. If you had told me a decade ago that we would still be talking about politicians trying to blame bigger problems on video games, well … I think I would have to believe you, because maybe nothing will ever really change.