Stephen King Talks Videogame Legislation

I’m no proponent of videogame legislature; my contention has always been that parents should monitor what their kids buy, watch, play, and listen to. As effective as that should be (assuming parents actually tried to make it so), politicians and activists have felt the need to make this into a legal issue for more than a decade now. The most recent example of this comes from the Massachusetts state legislature which would restrict the sale of those M-rated games to anyone under 18. (A demographic which includes 17-year-olds who are fully capable of going to the movies and seeing Hostel.)

So I was pleasantly surprised to see Stephen King writing a column on Entertainment Weekly’s website voicing his opinion on the matter – an opinion which happens to fall in line with my side of the argument.

King wrote, “And if there’s violence to be had, the kids are gonna find a way to get it, just as they’ll find a way to get all-day shooters like No Country for Old Men from cable if they want. Or Girls Gone Wild, for that matter. Can parents block that stuff? You bet. But most never do. The most effective bar against what was called ”the seduction of the innocent” when this hot-button issue centered on violent comic books 60 years ago is still parents who know and care not just about what their kids are watching and reading, but what they’re doing and who they’re hanging with. Parents need to have the guts to forbid material they find objectionable…and then explain why it’s being forbidden. They also need to monitor their children’s lives in the pop culture — which means a lot more than seeing what games they’re renting down the street.”

While it’s unlikely such a law will be passed or remain in effect for long, I think it’s sad that this consistent waste of time by elected officials continues to surface across the country.

You can find King’s full column here.

via Evil Avatar