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Utah Governor vetoes Jack Thompson's violent video game bill

Posted Mar 25, 2009 at 11:37AM EST by Karl B.

Listed in: News Tags: Jack Thompson

Jack Thompson - Image 1

I bet Jack Thompson's not smiling now. His video game/movie bill may have been passed overwhelmingly by the Utah House and Senate, but it seems he didn't count on the Final Boss of the Utah Government.

According to GamePolitics, Thompson himself told them that Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (R) has vetoed HB 353. Thompson also told GamePolitics that backers of the bill are still looking for a way to override the Governor's veto.

HB 353 amends the Truth in Advertising law, stating that retailers and movie theaters that advertise that they don't sell M-rated games games or R-rated movie tickets to underage buyers and then do so will be fined US$ 2,000.

Word is that some energetic lobbying by retailers helped push the Governor to veto the bill. Here's Gov. Huntsman's explanation of his decision:

After careful consideration and study, I have decided to veto HB 353...

While protecting children from inappropriate materials is a laudable goal, the language of this bill is so broad that it likely will be struck down by the courts as an unconstitutional violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause and/or the First Amendment.

The industries most affected by this new requirement indicated that rather than risk being held liable under this bill, they would likely choose to no longer issue age appropriate labels on goods and services.

Therefore, the unintended consequence of the bill would be that parents and children would have no labels to guide them in determining the age appropriateness of the goods or service, thereby increasing childrenÂ’s potential exposure to something they or their parents would have otherwise determined was inappropriate under the voluntary labeling system now being recognized and embraced by a significant majority of vendors.

Via GamePolitics

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It's a small victory, because the bill was ultimately useless anyways. It would have required retailers to ask a person their age, but not for the person to prove it. So some 12-year-old could buy an M-rated game and everything would be hunky-dory as long as the retailers asked their age. They could say they're 26, and the retailers wouldn't have any responsibility to check it.

Thompson needs to pull his head out of his ass if he seriously thinks this would have been at all worthwhile.

# We don't need to legislate — Sephiroth2906 2009-03-25 17:05

There certainly are video games and movies that are totally inappropriate for children, but it is not the government's responsibility to protect them from them, it is their parents. I was a Gamestop, where a father was purchasing Manhunt for a child who could not have been older than 12. The employee explained very well why the game would be inappropriate for the child, and the father said that was ok. I saw a child at Target who could not have been older than 10 tell his even younger brother how excited he was for the Hills Have Eyes 2 to come out because the first one was so awesome. My wife and I went to Sin City in the theaters, and we were alone, except for two preteens. The adult who brought them spent the entire movie on her cell phone outside of the theater. Thompson may be a nut, but he is right about content inappropriate for children. However, he is trying to treat a symptom, not the problem. And, as I said, he is a nut, so he does not get it anyway. Just wants to make a name for himself.

# ... — Shatterdome 2009-03-25 17:19

I think he already has a looong list of failures, i've yet to see anything he says get taken seriously.

I really wish people would just ignore him, not post his stories, or any stories about him.

It is this constant attention that keeps his going....

# Yes indeed Justin is... — avatar76 2009-03-25 17:35

I agree good job on blocking this bill.

Something I don't really understand being an aussie. Do you guys have a voluntary ratings system for computer games? The more I read about this the more it sounds as though the computer game industry is somewhat self regulated over there?

Justin thinks that we shouldn't put age limits on things.

Don't apreciate you using hebrew as an insult there though....

# I once lived.... — ssouthparkk 2009-03-25 19:26

in Nevada, which also borders Utah, and I used to see polygamists in the local Wal*Mart. lol

# @ssouthparkk — Darkthunder90 2009-03-26 13:54

I live in Vegas and can confirm your statement.

# MPAA and ESRB — Snaku 2009-03-27 05:06

The MPAA (motion picture association of America): the people responsible for movie ratings, and the ESRB (Electronic something Ratings board...forget what the S is for): the people responsible game video and computer game ratings are indeed voluntary. No government regulation exists to regulate them, and thus far, no sug regulation is needed. Both are doing an adequate job, and are reasonably accurate indications of content. Also, just about every store enforces the ratings system as though it were law, even though it's not. This is why I've always had a hard time understanding Jack Thompson's position. Mostly, I'm of the opinion that he wants to choke the industry with extra regulations that will make it too difficult to make the games he finds objectionable.

# Fundamentalists ? — Snaku 2009-03-27 05:12

Not sure what exactly is meant by the term "fundamentalist." Is it supposed to be a bad thing? When dealing with an unchanging God, is there something wrong with sticking to fundamental tenets of religion, rather than embracing every ridiculous idea the world comes up with?

As for polygamists: they are NOT members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). Being a polygamist is grounds for excommunication .

# ... — Justingraziano 2009-03-28 08:28

Actually, only video games are enforced. Movies are sold in many major stores completely unrated. Games, however, are not sold in any major store unless they have a rating.

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Utah Governor vetoes Jack Thompson's violent video game bill

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