Lawmakers consider bill on sale of violent video games

INDIANAPOLIS – Lawmakers watched clips of violent beatings, topless strippers and other adult material Monday as they considered a bill that would restrict the sale of certain video games to young people.\nThe video game clips, provided by a supporter of the bill, filled a big-screen television in the Indiana Senate chambers that typically shows mundane information about legislation up for debate and how senators voted.\nSen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood, said he was shocked by the clips and complained that they should not have been shown in the Senate chambers during a meeting open to the public.\n“I am absolutely totally appalled – first by the content and second that you would bring that kind of filth into this Senate chamber,” Waltz told the supporter. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”\nCommittee chairman Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City, took responsibility for the decision to show the clips. He said that although he could have handled the situation differently, lawmakers needed to realize the graphic content of some video games. \n“My thought was you needed to know what you were voting on,” Ford said.\nThe bill cleared the Senate Technology Committee 5-2 and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.\nThe legislation could impose fines of up to $1,000 if retailers sold or rented video games rated mature to those under 17 or games rated adults only to those under age 18.\nOne video game clip showed a character urinating on victims and setting them on fire while a narrator made racial comments. Another featured a character gunning down people in church, while another “rewarded” players who reached a certain level with video clips of real topless strippers. Many of the games included bloody beatings or shootings, as well as explicit language.\nSteve Stoughton, president of the Center for Successful Parenting, said he brought in the clips as an example of games that are rated M, or mature, which may be suitable for people ages 17 and older. He said most parents do not realize the graphic nature of some games that their teenage children might be playing.\n“They have no idea, really, what their children are watching,” he said. “It’s an issue that isn’t going to go away.”\nRetailers and the video game industry spoke against the bill, saying voluntary restrictions are working.\nMajor video game retailers already check the identification of people who buy rated M games to make sure they are 17, said Grant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council.