No one learned anything from California, Illinois and Michigan.
Strong pushes from state governors in both California and Illinois didn’t help either state pass legislation making the sale of mature-rated videogames a crime. Such bills never went into action in Michigan, either, yet Republicans and Democrats from Maryland proposed HB 54 and HB 75, and Indiana will reportedly face upcoming bills, says Game Politics.
HB 54 is actually a different approach. Most bills have sought to criminalize the sale of Mature-rated videogames, whereas HB 54 actually bans the rental and sale of Adults Only-rated videogames, with penalties including a year in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. HB 75, on the other hand, is described as “California redux,” which would be much like the legislative proposals in other states.
Indiana, however, has not yet actually encountered proposed legislation, but supposedly such proposals are in the works from both Republican State Senator Dennis Kruse and Democratic State Senator Vi Simpson.
Simpson’s comments paint a similar opinion to what’s been heard from other representatives. “We’re not setting ages or changing the ratings, we are asking retail agencies to enforce it,” said Simpson to the Associated Press. “Right now, kids can walk into just about any store and get their hands on a video game in which they can shoot police officers, use drugs, steal cars, rape women or even assassinate a president. That’s frightening to say the least.”
The road to artistic censorship regulated by the government sounds a little scarier to me, but hey, I’m no state senator, so what do I know?