Congress is wasting time and money again trying to legislate morality in video games.
There’s hardly any shortage of video game proposals, with many already pending in Congress. Just last month, a little-noticed bill called the Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act was referred to Stearns’ panel for consideration.
Introduced by Rep. Jim Matheson, a Utah Democrat, the proposal would make it illegal for anyone to sell, rent, or attempt to sell or rent video games rated “adults-only” to minors under age 18, or “mature” video games to anyone under age 17. The Federal Trade Commission would be permitted to levy fines of up to $5,000 per violation.
That approach is nearly identical to a bill unveiled last December by U.S. Senate Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman. They propose imposing fines or community service hours on any business that sells or rents video games with a “mature,” “adults-only” or “ratings pending” tag to anyone under age 17. That measure has not yet gone up for debate.
You cannot legislate morality. Parenting is not the responsibility of Congress, and those of you who have paid attention may have noticed that the morality of our youth have not been improving despite all the news laws we’ve enacted over my lifetime (and probably prior to that as well).
Parents, if you are relying on Congress to ensure your kids grow up with a good set of values and are protected from everything prurient and wrong in the world, well, you have bigger problems than video games. Bob Barker used to remind his audience to spay and neuter their pets at the end of every episode of The Price is Right. Perhaps he should have included irresponsible parents in his target group of those who shouldn’t breed. Actually, maybe it would improve politics if we required prospective members of Congress to spay or neuter themselves before allowing them to have their names on the ballot.