DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Pa. state lawmaker proposes bill taxing violent video games to fund school security

Pa. state lawmaker proposes bill taxing violent video games to fund school security

A Pennsylvania state lawmaker has proposed taxing violent video games in an effort to increase funding for school security.

State Rep. Christopher Quinn (R) said the 10 percent tax on games rated “mature” or “adult only” would go towards funding school safety projects, such as the installation of metal detectors and additional security cameras or bulletproof glass in some cases, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“The crux of the bill is, I’m simply trying to make schools safe," Quinn said. “It’s about identifying a source of funding to help combat the growing violence."

Quinn noted the bill has bipartisan support but will not go up for a vote in the House until he has a better grasp on the constitutionality of the legislation.

“This is a matter of trying to figure out, OK, here’s a problem, how do we try to generate some revenue that’s directly coming from the problem itself to help us offset it,” he said.

Quinn said his bill would raise roughly $3.5 million a year that would go into a special account to be used only for school security measures.

A spokesperson for the Entertainment Software Association told the Inquirer that the bill would likely get struck down in court because video games are protected as free speech and the legislation would be viewed as censorship.

“The U.S. Supreme Court made clear ... that video games are entitled to the full protection of the Constitution and that efforts, like Pennsylvania’s, to single out video games based on their content will be struck down," spokesperson Dan Hewitt told the Inquirer in a statement.

Quinn added that he believes there is a connection between violent video games and school shootings.

Research has not definitively shown a link between the two, according to a review by The New York Times.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch...o-games-to-fund

Typical GOPer thinking! Taxing violent video games makes perfect sense to this Republican... BUT WAIT, why not tax what actually cause of the school shootings, guns and gun owners? No that makes too much sense.

Does this mean we can stop blaming The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote for all the violence?

Yep, those two got Tom and Jerry off the hook.

Lol. Remember how Foghorn abused that poor chicken hawk.

Geico insurance has been abusing and exploiting cavemen and lizards for years and nobody says squat. Pfft.

The 1950’s era Tex Avery cartoons were incredibly violent... and funny. Some of my favorite cartoons of my 1970’s childhood.

Gamergate was like 5 years ago.

I can't count the number of times I've wanted to drop an Acme Anvil on someone.... All because of my hero, Mr Coyote!

I say that a bit tongue in cheek,, I do believe there is some correlation between violent games and violence in schools..

But geez,

The only relation between violence in games and movies and that behavior being exhibited by the viewer is the values instilled by their family.

My aunt took my cousins and I to R rated horror flicks since I was 10 (late 70's early 80's), I never once considered running through the woods with an axe or chainsaw killing campers.

My son has played many violent video games, and never once has he exhibited any violent tendencies.

And while every word you said is probably true, that would have to be drawing the conclusion that all children's brains work the same way. They don't.

Correct, but conclusion the other way states that the majority of children develop violent tendencies from video games. They don't.
I'm not sure even 1% of kids learn their violent tendencies from video games.

This country has a bad habit of creating laws, regulations, rules bases on the minority, which then affects the majority.

Then you have the issue of defining what constitutes a "violent" game.

Mario Bros goes around kicking things indiscriminately.
Some people think football is violent, does that include Madden?
Sure games like Grand Theft Auto and Sniper would be easier to define, but where is that line?


It would not surprise me if a real study would find that the video game wasn't the source of violence, but the pent up adrenaline with no release ended up being the real source.

Many of these kids do NOTHING but sit around and play these things, and never get physical activity.

The number of kids that were allowed to "sit out" of gym class when my son was in school, floored me. Like what was the point when nearly 3/4 of the class just sat on the bleachers and read books, did homework, etc (They didn't have cell phones then)

My post was more directed at the terrible state of our mental health system in America than anything else. One just needs to look at our justice system to realize that the jail and prison system have been turned into mental health facilities.

I think there is a difference in old cartoons where the violence was so outrageous and silly that of course it's not real vs modern shows, movies, and especially games that make it extremely realistic to the point it desensitises you to it.

The problem with trying to suss out mental health issues for a way to control gun violence is fundamentally flawed because a single traumatic event can destabilize ones mental health immediately. You could have a person pass a mental health screening one day, get fired or catch his lover cheating the next and use a gun to resolve the issue.

The only true constant is the availability of guns. The genie is out of the bottle on this one and there is no putting them back in, IMHO.

I agree with this but I also think violence in entertainment has always been there since the beginning. Just look at cave paintings, the hunt the kill featured right along with the aliens.

Very true....Romans had gladiator combats, man vs animal fights.

Violence has been part of mankind since we first appeared.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96482.A_Terrible_Love_of_War

James Hillman wrote a fascinating book about war. It's very good and I would recommend it as it has some great insights on sport as war.