Because I am a gamer and am studying to become an Animator and Game Designer this issue hits close to home. California is attempting to censor our games more heavily than they censor : movies, books, television shows etc...
I want to protest California and all states supporting California (which include my home state Maryland and the state I am currently living Virginia. This "bill" has been fought in the past and always won on the artistic side (for the gamer) due to the bills obvious first amendment right intrusion. Please visit :
To help support the many artists and gamers such as myself from this blatant disobedience of the united States Government.
I personally want to add: TO PARENTS AND OTHER ADULTS IN THE GOVERNMENT WHO AGREE WITH THIS LAW:
1) Learn to control your children (parents)! You are the reason the government is the way it is about this bill! If it weren't for bad parenting there would be no worries about video games and violence or video games and age groups! If YOU (parents) would control and discipline YOUR children the REST OF US WOULDN'T HAVE TO SUFFER!
2) Please do not disregard our rights as artists and United States Citizens! (GOVERNMENT!)
If it weren't for the bad parents out there there would be no issue with the difference between E-for everyone, T-for teen, M-for mature (i.e 17+), and AO-adult content such as extreme sexual content, or if u want to use a movie as an example SAW 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or however many there are. BUT Teenagers ages 17+ can get in to see that movie! YET, the states now want to censor video games that are rated M that are nothing compared to SAW or Hostle! The video games that would be censored so horribly would be Call Of Duty, Halo, Dante's Inferno, God Of War. the list goes on and in each of these games the most violence you get is a person shooting, stabbing, slicing, beating, another person or fantasy creature. BUT the MAJOR difference is all you see is fake blood squirt out of the body. In God Of War three, when Kratos is killing Zeus he beats his head in, but to "censor" the violence the screen turns red and you see nothing! Why do these games deserve to be censored to an extreme beyond extremes but movies such as Saw get to stay at an R-rated level even though it deserves an AO level!
From: Warren Spector
Date: October 13, 2010
Subject: Games are art
Dear Friends,
Computer and video games are art, a form of artistic expression deserving of and, currently, protected by the First Amendment.
That hasn't stopped states though from trying to restrict the rights of our medium's artists, storytellers, and technical innovators. On November 2, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of a California law that would restrict the sale of video games. This is a case of great significance to you and me -- to all people who play or create games and believe in the First Amendment.
Let's not beat around the bush -- if the Court's ruling goes against us, this law could lead to the future censorship of games, could irrevocably harm developers and would validate the absurd notion that video games are somehow a lesser form of creative expression.
We must act now. On October 19, I'm asking you to join me in urging all of your friends and co-workers, real-world or virtual, to stand up for video games by joining the Video Game Voters Network, an advocacy group fighting for their First Amendment protection.
Many people, including some of my personal heroes, like Stan Lee, have already encouraged us to take a stand. Now is the time for gamers to come together and spread the word through our social networks. Now is the time to ask every gamer we can reach to stand up with us and protect our First Amendment rights.
Here's the link:
http://www.videogamevoters.org/nocensorship
On October 19, please tweet this:
Games=Free Speech. Stand w/ @VideoGameVoters on 11/2 as #SCOTUS decides future of games http://vgvn.org/act #GamersUnite
Post it on Facebook and on your blog. Talk about it in interviews, on podcasts and with your colleagues. Encourage everyone you can to do the same. It's time for all of us who are tired of games being treated unfairly to band together and let our collective voice be heard.
Thank you for considering this call to action.
-- Warren Spector
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