BREAKING: HB 353 Passes Utah Senate, Sent Back to House

Posted by Liz Surette on March 13, 2009

After more debate and yet another shameful playing of the kid-shoots-cop-after-playing-GTA card, Jack Thompson’s Utah bill that would allow a civil cause of action against retailers who sell M-rated games to minors contrary to their advertising policies was passed 25 to 4. However, because the bill was amended, it will be sent back to the House for further proceedings.

Even the admirable efforts of Senators McCoy and Romero could not convince the Senate to exercise restraint. We can only hope that the House will take their comments seriously. Senator Romero, after correctly observing that there is no way to know how young perpetrators of violent crime obtain violent video games, repeats the core position of the opposition that “it is imperative that the parents watch over their children and decide for themselves what is appropriate”. Senator McCoy, a practiced attorney in the area of false advertising, called the bill “pounding a square peg into a round hole to make us feel better” and warned that “we will be frustrated and disappointed” when the bill fails to address the problem of minors committing violent crimes. However, based on the overwhelming passing vote in the House previously, the future looks bleak. Despite this, we are confident that even if the bill is made law, the game industry and its advocates will raise a powerful and rigorous challenge.

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