The political handling of computer games in the US is a constant connundrum. Chaotic, shambolic and often downright despotic, it takes a PhD in lunacy to figure out what's going on over there, and how it may have an impact on the situation over here. Thankfully, Joystiq has introduced a weekly column from the creator of gamepolitics.com, and he's kicked off his coverage on the general purpose gaming blog with an excellent brief history of video game legislation in the US. See if you can follow the thread and make the connections. History certainly does repeat itself:
If legislators have learned anything from these courtroom losses, they're not showing it. Three more states - Oklahoma, Minnesota and Louisiana - passed video game laws this year. The sponsor of Oklahoma's bill, Republican Fred Morgan, told a local newspaper in 2005 that he wanted to pattern his bill on the Illinois law - three days after the Illinois law was ruled unconstitutional. Minnesota passed the most bizarre law so far, a measure that would have fined underage buyers $25 for trying to purchase M-rated games. The bill's author, Democrat Sandra Pappas, rather famously told GameSpot, "Legislators don't worry too much about what's constitutional."
I fear them.
