Video game bill filed in North Carolina senate

Unfazed by the incidents that occurred in Illinois and, most recently, in Utah, North Carolina Senator Julia Boseman proposed a video game bill designed to restrict the access of minors to violent video games.

This move was not a surprise, since before the bill was introduced, political tongues had already been wagging that the Senator was keen on re-introducing video game legislation. She first proposed video game legislation in 2005. The bill passed the Senate, but failed to move in the House.

Senate Bill 87 (SB87), the Boseman-introduced bill, aims to add violent games to an already existing NC stature which defines what materials are harmful to minors. Reading through the filed bill, video game violence is defined in the same terms used to restrict minors’ access to porn.

It mentions that video games with graphic violence, which is harmful to minors, should be located in an area not open to view by minors. Video game retailers must also inform their customers about the ESRB ratings. Graphic violence here was defined as:

The realistic visual depiction of serious injury to human beings, actual or virtual, including aggravated assault, decapitation, dismemberment, or death.

The law is also applicable to video arcades. If this is passed, the bill would become a law by the end of the year.

Unfazed by the incidents that occurred in Illinois and, most recently, in Utah, North Carolina Senator Julia Boseman proposed a video game bill designed to restrict the access of minors to violent video games.

This move was not a surprise, since before the bill was introduced, political tongues had already been wagging that the Senator was keen on re-introducing video game legislation. She first proposed video game legislation in 2005. The bill passed the Senate, but failed to move in the House.

Senate Bill 87 (SB87), the Boseman-introduced bill, aims to add violent games to an already existing NC stature which defines what materials are harmful to minors. Reading through the filed bill, video game violence is defined in the same terms used to restrict minors’ access to porn.

It mentions that video games with graphic violence, which is harmful to minors, should be located in an area not open to view by minors. Video game retailers must also inform their customers about the ESRB ratings. Graphic violence here was defined as:

The realistic visual depiction of serious injury to human beings, actual or virtual, including aggravated assault, decapitation, dismemberment, or death.

The law is also applicable to video arcades. If this is passed, the bill would become a law by the end of the year.