For a place that once deemed September 26 as Guitar Hero Day, you'd expect most New Yorkers to be pretty cool about games. We've got news that might startle you though, as the New York State Senate recently voted 61-1 to approve a bill that would make game ratings mandatory in the state of New York. Learn more after the jump!

According to the Statewide News Service, a recently conducted meeting to reach a compromise in a game bill against video game violence churned up what appears to be heated remarks, although Game Politics has been informed that the part about the argument bordering on physical violence "was overstated."

 

Senator Andrew Lanza of Staten Island (R), sponsor of proposal A08696 against game violence, had a lengthy session with Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson of Mount Vernon (D) over the conditions of "speech" content that may or may not be considered as violent content on grounds of unconstitutionality. What they could agree on, however, is that they really did disagree on the finer points of the case.

Now what was really the issue was that the Democrats in the meeting, which includes Senator Hassell-Thompson, formally made the bill completely meaningless. This was because they iterated the fact that the bill could be constitutional under the terms that it will be made to regulate content that are both violent and obscene.

Senator Lanza argued that if the bill will be made constitutional (in which he adds, "I’m not saying that but you might say it"), it will not regulate anything that isn't already regulated by the obscenity law. Obscenity and violence, in combination, is considered "extreme pornography" under the obscenity law and needs no further reinforcement from a bill targeted at video game violence.

Click on Full Article to view the transcript of the portion of the discussion in question.

According to a report by GamePolitics, a new bill has been proposed by the Democratic side of New York's legislature. This report comes after the fact that another bill was passed earlier by the legislature of the same state, spearheaded by the Republicans of the Senate, specifically Senator Andrew Lanza.

But probably the most significant issue that this news has raised is that if a retailer happens to sell or rent any game to inappropriately aged minors, that same retailer would be committing a felony - a class E felony. An excerpt of the proposal goes:

1.) selling or renting to a minor a game which includes “depraved violence and indecent images” would be a class E felony under the state penal code

The bill refers to "depraved" as depictions of "rape, dismemberment, physical torture, mutilation or evisceration of a human being." The proposed bill, called A08696, goes further to iterate that each new game console should integrate a parental control mechanism. It defines this mechanism as:

…a mechanism, device or control system that allows an owner, through the use of a personal identification number, password or similar technology, to prevent the display of video games, or portions thereof containing certain content…

And that's not all. According to a section of the proposal, the state attorney general will be granted the authority to petition the court for an injunction blocking further sales of any console not meeting this requirement. And yes, it's specifically targeted at consoles, not PCs or handhelds.

The proposal also suggests the formation of a council, dubbed "Advisory Council on Interactive Media and Youth Violence," to monitor and evaluate research on interactive media, "violent behavior among children," and review the ESRB system. Furthermore, it says:

4.) The measure contains a severability clause, which states that if any portion of the proposed law is found to be unconstitutional, such a ruling would not invalidate the other sections.

This new bill was proposed by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol and co-sponsored by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer. There are even talks that the new proposal is currently favored by Governor Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat. And if he does pass and sign the law in the state, it will go into effect in 120 days.

The New York State Senate has just passed new legislation that seeks to (once again) curb video game violence. Bill S.5888, sponsored by Senator Andrew Lanza, was introduced just last Thursday (May 17) and was subsequently passed Tuesday of this week (May 21).

According to the press wire that's in circulation, this bill's agenda is to first create the Advisory Council on Interactive Media and Youth Violence, a board that's designed to review the current Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB).

The two other provisions of this bill include a requirement for all New York State retailers to place rating labels on their games, and to establish a Parent-Teacher Anti-Violence Awareness Program.

What I find counter-intuitive (and a little absurd) is that while the bill's provisions seem sensible, Lanza added this statement in the press release in order to make it seem more imperative to pass the bill into law:

The recent release of 'V-Tech Massacre,' a sick game which exploits the Virginia Tech University tragedy, is a painful reminder of the culture of violence which has severe consequences on our youth and society.

We assume he means V-Tech Rampage, Ryan Lambourn's highly controversial Flash game, which Mr. Lanza also attempted to parallel to Rockstar's upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV.

Indeed, while I agree with the legislation's movements for increased awareness, it's unsettling to know that the primary motivations for this legislation appear to be a knee-jerk reaction to the Virginia Tech incident and a game not affiliated with the large-scale video game industry. Of course, that's just my two cents on the matter - time will tell what revisions will play out as this bill goes through its paces.

What about you, QJ readers - what's your take on this new bill? We've posted a read link for the original press wire which details the bill's full mechanics. Read up on that and feel free to post a reply.