Massachusetts Considers Anti-Game Legislation

The Massachusetts legislature is set to hold a March 18th hearing to consider a bill that seeks to restrict minors from buying violent video games under the same measures that make it illegal for them to purchase pornography. According to ECA-owned website GamePolitics, House Bill 1423 is similar to the Louisiana law drafted with input from anti-game activist Jack Thompson, later ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. district court. Ultimately, the District Court of Louisiana was ordered to pay $91,000 in legal fees to the Entertainment Software Association, and that bill was not enacted. Says the new Massachusetts bill currently in the planning stage: "Matter is harmful to minors if it is obscene or, if taken as a whole, it… depicts violence in a manner patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community, so as to appeal predominantly to the morbid interest in violence of minors; is patently contrary to prevailing standards of adults in the county where the offense was committed… and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors." Democratic Representative Linda Dorcena Forry is reportedly the bill's main sponsor, though a recent Boston Herald report reveals the bill also has support from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Thompson has also revealed his involvement to GamePolitics via email, stating, "Of course I’m involved, today even."