NY Assembly passes video game bill
- May 31, 2007 12:41 PM PST
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A new video game bill has just passed through New York's Democrat-controlled Assembly, which would make it a felony to sell inappropriate video games to minors.
By Eugene Huang
The New York Assembly has recently approved a video game bill that would criminalize the sale of "violent" or "indecent" video games to minors. According to the Associated Press, violation of this bill, numbered A08696, could result in prison sentences of up to four years.
The bill defines a "violent" game as one that contains "photographic, photo-realistic or similar visual representation or image depicting the rape, dismemberment, physical torture, mutilation or evisceration of a human being". The bill similarly describes "indecent images" as those that depict "nudity, sexual conduct or sado-masochistic abuse".
The bill also contains a section that would make it mandatory for all video game consoles to feature some form of parental control that would prevent such video games from being displayed without the entry of a PIN or password.
Although the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Republican-controlled Senate unanimously agree that the state's video game legislation needs to be updated, the two law-making bodies are not yet in the realm of total agreement. A similar, yet tougher Senate bill is asking for the state to tighten its grip even further through the creation of an even more stringent state-approved video game rating system, although Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver feels that such a bill would be unconstitutional.
The report states that Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno is asking for a compromise from both houses before the legislative session ends on June 21st.
