April 25, 2003

Stores That Sell 'Grand Theft Auto' To Minors Could Get Legally Slapped

By Joe D'Angelo (MTV.com)

Fans of violent video games beware: While no one is forcing you to holster your weapon, some state legislators are firing back. A bill on the verge of being signed into law calls for $500 fines to be levied against any retailer who sells a game that depicts violence against a police officer to a minor.

Although the legislation doesn't cite any one title in particular, anyone who's ever playedThe Getawayor any game in theGrand Theft Autoseries knows that capping cops is par for the course.The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D), passed the Washington state Senate 42-7 last week and now sits on Gov. Gary Locke's desk. Should the governor sign the proposal, which he has indicated that he will, the bill will become the first law of its kind in the country. Lawmakers focused on only those games depicting violence against police officers so that the legislation wouldn't violate any constitutional laws.

Based on legal challenges in other states, Dickerson believes her bill would hold up to free-speech scrutiny. While the definition of violence may be subjective, there's not much gray area surrounding any brutality against a cop.Nevertheless, the video-game industry has already said it would challenge the bill if it gets passed into law.The Washington State House Bill 1009 isn't intended to ban or censor any video games, only to encourage retailers to be more responsible, Dickerson's spokesperson said. Games that contain"mature sexual themes"or"more intense violence or language"are rated M for mature audiences, and a labeled advisory warns that the content may not be suitable for those under 18. Since the ratings are set internally by the gaming industry's Entertainment Software Ratings Board and not by an outside government body, they have no legal foundation to be upheld. They are merely warnings, and often ignored ones at that, especially when abiding by them may mean the loss of a sale.

The organization Mothers Against Violence in America staged a sting operation in the Seattle area in February, in which 14- and 15-year-old kids attempted to buy M-rated games through 13 different retailers. Only one refused to allow the minors to purchase the games. One retailer ignored a cash register's automatic prompt to ask for ID, while another told a minor who tried to return the game because her parents objected to the content that she should have"just lied... and told them the game was about entomology or something."While studies of video games, television, music and other media have yet to prove a universal direct correlation between being exposed to images of violence and then acting violent, startling examples arise more frequently than the gaming industry would like. Last year in Oakland, California, five men and a woman who called themselves the"Nut Cases"went on a random violent mugging and murdering spree.

When they were caught and charged with murder, they were completely callous about their crimes and told police they were inspired byGrand Theft Auto.And in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a man believed to be responsible for about 100 car thefts also claimed to be motivated byGTA.Except for one member of the Nut Cases who was 17 at the time of his arrest, however, all the suspects in both incidents were over the age of 18.