Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson on violent gaming

Rep. Mary Lou
Dickerson

Earlier this week I wanted to interview Representative Mary Lou Dickerson for my Friday column. Unfortunately, she was tied up with committee work and wasn??t able to get back to me until late Thursday.

Here??s what she had to say:

If you had your druthers, what would be a fitting solution? Do you want stricter controls on the sale of these products or do you want manufacturers to steer clear of certain subjects and how they get represented in the games?
In essence, my legislation (House Bill 2178) says that a person may file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against a manufacturer or retailer of a violent video or computer game who has distributed, sold, or rented a violent video game to a person under the age of 17 if the game was a factor in creating conditions that assisted or encouraged the person to cause injury or death to another person. Since a personal injury lawsuit is a civil (not criminal) matter, prosecutors are not involved.

I agree with your point that it might be very difficult to demonstrate a causal connection in a particular case -- but this is a good reason to conclude that the legislation would not lead to frivolous lawsuits or unjust awards to plaintiffs. People who bring personal injury lawsuits should have to meet a high standard of evidence.

Each wave of new media technology in the last century has triggered its own particular concerns. What is it that is particular about video and software games?
I have nothing against latest video and software games as a technology. Many games are very good. In fact, I have been very impressed for several years by increasingly realistic graphics, speed and interactivity--such as feed-back joy-sticks. But I am persuaded by numerous studies of psychologists and pediatricians that the increasing realism of video games risks blurring the lines between fantasy and reality for some children.

Game manufacturers know that some of their games are inappropriate for, and can affect the thinking and emotional states of, children -- that is why they have a rating system.

In Washington, and most states, we don't allow adult magazines or pornography to be sold to children. And I'm certain that if movie theaters started admitting children into x-rated movies, parents would demand stronger legislation. It is similar with those games that are virtual snuff films. If adults want to immerse themselves in games where players advance to different levels by beating women to death with bats, or urinating on and burning African-American policeman alive as they scream in agony (while having audio with racist voice-overs) that is their right. But if children who play these games hour after hour after hour act out their fantasies in real life, the victims should also have a right to redress, if the plaintiff can demonstrate a causal connection.

Your proposal would allow for wrongful death or personal injury lawsuits if ??the game was a factor in creating conditions that assisted or encouraged the person to cause injury or death to another person.?? That sounds awfully vague. Isn't that putting a very difficult charge to a prosecutor who must prove the connection?
If I had my druthers, retailers would never sell an M-rated game to a child without the consent or knowledge of the parents, and parents would become more involved in their children's game choices. I personally believe it is morally wrong for manufacturers to make games where points are scored through the murder of women, law enforcement officers, minorities -- indeed any innocent person. The recent move of avowedly racist groups to create and use minority-killing and Jew-killing games to recruit children to their causes is particularly repulsive, even alarming, to me. But I do not believe it is legally wrong for manufacturers to create such games for "adult" consumption. My concern is for the children. I applaud the ESRB for creating the game-rating system to flag when games might be harmful to children, but if I had my druthers the manufacturers, and retailers, would take steps to enforce their own ratings.