So, yesterday I reported that Hillary Clinton was going to speak to her fellow politicians about video games, and boy did she ever.

She called on the Federal Trade Commission to “take immediate action to determine the source of graphic pornographic and violent content appearing on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game.” And, she wants the FTC to “determine whether an Adults Only (AO) rating is more appropriate than the current Mature (M) rating for the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game given this new, alarming content.” She is also asking that the FTC “examine the adequacy of retailers’ rating enforcement policies.”

Of course, asking the government to do something isn’t Clinton’s style, so she has announced that she will author a bill that would give video game ratings some teeth. The legislation will “prohibit the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors” and make such action a federal offense. Clinton said the penalty for violating the law would be a mandatory $5,000 fine.”

“No wonder these games are falling into the hands of our children and no wonder so many parents feel everyday like they are fighting this battle with their hands tied behind their backs,” Clinton said. “We need to do better. We need to do everything we can to make sure that parents have a line of defense against violent and graphic video games and other content that go against the values they are trying to instill in their children.”

Meanwhile, Rockstar has said that it “support[s] any effort to empower parents to control what their kids consume. We also want to strike a balance so that the average video game player, who is not a child, is able to continue to play the games that they enjoy.”

The Entertainment Software Association also had something to say about this, contending that Hillary Clinton’s position was based on a flawed legal theory. “The legislation proposed by Senator Clinton is unconstitutional on its face as it amounts to government enacted restrictions on creative and artistic expression protected by the First Amendment,” ESA president Douglas Lowenstein said. “This is not just our view, but the view of every Federal Court which has rendered final judgment on similar laws enacted by states in recent years, including appellate courts in the Seventh and Eighth Circuits, and the Western District United States District Court.” He continued to say that “whole we understand Senator Clinton’s motivation, in the end her solution will never pass constitutional muster and thus will do nothing to help parents raise their kids.”

Finally, the ESRB had to poke its nose into things, with President Patricia Vance stating: “we urge all parties not to rush to judgment until all of the relevant facts, some of which are highly technical and complicated, have been established. Any second guessing at this point would be premature and inappropriate as this investigation continues. Like Senator Clinton, the ESRB is acting in the interests of protecting children, and making sure their parents have dependable information on which to rely when making video game purchase decisions. This is our primary mission, and no one takes it more seriously than we do.”

Normally I would give my opinion at the end of an article, but it’s going to end up to be too much of a rant. The short version is: if your kid buys GTA: SA, and you notice it, talk to him, tell him why it’s wrong, and play devil’s advocate by either returning the game, or throwing it out.

Provided by Geekstreak