How California wants to screw an industry,

It's been no secret that for several years now, that the State of California has been active in an attempt to make the sale of violent video games to minors a punishable offense. Though shut down in the initial attempt, hypocrite Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has continued to push for the bill to pass.
Regardless if you like video games or not, it's imperative that you understand that this is a bad thing. Instead of focusing their attention of real evils, like crime and drugs, politicians always attempt to criminalize things that, generations later, we discover weren't bad at all. Rock and Roll, Jazz, Heavy Metal, all sorts of things were under the same scrutiny video games are now. And much like it's musical counterparts, Gaming has been villainized and frequently used as a political scapegoat.

This man wants to ban violence.

The real ironic part in all of this is the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man whose "killed" thousands upon thousands of men in his movies, is a major part of this bill. Something that X-Play poked fun at, back when the show was actually good. Lets use his upcoming action film "The Expendables" as an example. If he doesn't directly kill at least a van-full of people, he's involved in some way. Now, if I were still 15 and this bill passed, I could easily walk into a movie theater, purchase a ticket and observe the two hour bloodshed. But if I were to go Gamespot after the movie and try to pick up a copy of Halo 3, that wouldn't happen.

Doom III is not meant for your young daughter! You are a terrible parent!

Now you ask, why is this bad for anyone who isn't from The Golden State? Well my friend, if this bill comes into effect, what's stopping it from happening all across the United States? Even making it's way into Canada or several other countries? That would suck ass. Because in a couple years from now, we'll be looking back on this and laughing, all the while shaking our heads while the government attempts to strike down some new form of entertainment. The reality is, regardless of what it is, movies, games, whatever. It's up to the parents to make a smart, informed decision. That's why things like the ESRB exist. To inform. So when your kid comes home with a copy of "Rape and Mutilation II: Electric Boogaloo." Remember, it's not the industries fault. It's not the store's fault. It's your fault as an uninformed parent, denying that makes you a shitty one.

Now, let's hope this bill is shot down once again, so the entertainment industry is once again on even grounds.

- Kyle K.