Violent Videogames Get The Boot In Indianapolis
- August 14, 2000 00:00 AM PST
Indianapolis is leading a bold new battle against violent videogames.
Indianapolis is leading a bold new battle against violent videogames. The city is hoping to become the first major city in the country to ban minors from playing certain coin-operated video games. Starting on September 1, minors will not be allowed to play graphically violent or sexual games without parental permission. The law will affect arcades, convenience stores, movie theaters, and other locations, but will have no impact on console gaming.The idea for the law came from Indianapolis Mayor, Bart Peterson, who was running for mayor when the Columbine High School shooting occurred in Littleton, Colorado. The law will forbid minors from playing games with depictions of violence such as bloodshed, amputation, and decapitation, or sexual content such as nudity. The law's supporters felt justified when four national health groups issued a statement about media violence in July. Video games -- along with movies, music and television - can desensitize children to violence, the groups said. The groups participating were the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Research has yet to determine if violent games cause children to commit violence, according to Jeanne B. Funk, a University of Toledo psychology professor who has published studies on video games. A lawsuit may be filed by the videogame industry claiming the Indianapolis law violates First Amendment free-speech protections, arguing that if a story or message is protected in a book or movie form, it should also be protected in a video game.
To read the text of the new law, visit the Indianapolis Web site.
