If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that the Oklahoma State Senate recently passed what amounts to an anti-gaming bill. Basically, the bill (HB 3004) makes it illegal to sell games that are “harmful to minors” to children. This bill, once signed by Governor Henry, will add any games under this loose defintion to the short list of government regulated media.
Here is the current list of government regulated media:
-
Pornography
Like I said. It’s a short list. The point I’m getting at here is this: I live in Oklahoma. This law won’t affect me, but I personally believe it’s a bad idea. The heart of the idea is good, I just don’t think it’s a legal issue. All other media is internally regulated and that should be good enough for games—which are prohibitively expensive to most children anyway.
I sent Governor Henry a letter on the subject not long ago and was delightfully surprised that he actually responded—and quickly, too. I still think he’s going to sign the bill. He pretty much has to, as it passed through both the State House and Senate unanimously. Still, I wanted to take this time to thank Governor Henry—and specifically his Policy Specialist Leslie Tabor—for taking the time to respond at all.
—UPDATE: This is post is now linked to the resplendent Game Politics. Thanks, Dennis.
Even if it does pass, it may still be contested in Federal Court, as a similiar bill is currently going through in CA. Our Large Govrnr signed it into Law, and now it’s being contested.
*crosses fingers* *writes letters*