Ban sale of Grand Theft Auto, other violent video games, state rep says

With carjackings rising, Rep. Marcus Evans wants to prohibit the sale of violent video games promoting criminal activity.

[MadLad]

Ban all movies/TV shows featuring similar content, and bar local news from covering things like assault and theft.

We can't have the young ones seeing this filth.
I let my niece throw one molotov in Mafia 2, and now she's an arsonist!

[Snookies12]

They aren't taking this far enough though! We gamers need to be held accountable for all of the digital lives we've taken... I don't know how I'm going to break the news to my family, that I've killed thousands online in games.

Seriously though, every time I think these idiots have died down. We get another 'genius' like this guy talking about something he doesn't even remotely understand.

[CyberSentinel]

Basically, Mr Evans is saying...

“Rockstar* give me money, this is a shakedown”.

[Santouryuu]

Finally, my shitty aim pays off!

[TallDarknWavy]

This is the authoritarian pearl clutchers who want to blame videogames and demand the speech of others be limited to prevent this made up nonsense where everyone claims to be traumatized by even the slightest emotional distress.

Notice he's a black Democrat who doesn't want to blame the lack of police on rising crime? Defund police and ban everything that hurts people's fee fees like videogames.

[bloop]

I remember when Mortal Kombat released. I was 12. They tried to ban that too, but failed. The school yard turned into chaos every break time. Little Johnny uppercut Susan's head clean off her shoulders after she pulled his best friend's heart straight out of his chest, still beating, and all just for stealing her crayons. Then there was the time little Timmy pulled all the flesh off his own face, down to his skull and spit fire at Kevin, burning him alive because he farted in his face. And poor little Charlie, gave George a wedgie, who then turned into an ancient Chinese dragon and ate his entire upper torso in one bite. Crazy times!!

[The_Sage]

Don't forget books.

[anubusgold]

Do what the church does burn all the books let us all be stupid and die of simple diseases because we burned all the doctors as witches . How dare they heal crap lol only jesus can do that lol.

[CrimsonWing69]

Lol, exactly. I'm sure this dude watches some violent media. Ban all the stuff he enjoys watching and see how long that flies.

Eventually, these old farts will be replaced by the generation who grew up with games and this won't be a thing anymore. Never once am I seeing headlines to ban Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, which a kid probably has easier access to than a game.

[MaximusTKG]

You wish this would be the case, but there are idiots in every generation. Never fails.

[RgR]

Well. I doubt after one molotov.

It's plain and simple. Their are ratings already for games and parents should be smart enough to know what games their children should be exposed to at different ages.

I personally don't think gta is much of an issue with graphic violence to be honest.

To think however that these games are causing the violence is quite a stretch. What is gonna stop these criminals from getting their gta kick from purchasing it online?

[Tetsujin]

While we're at it:

Ban Fox News/CNN/MSNBC
Ban the Government as a whole
Ban all forms of literature
Ban history classes
Ban PBS

When will these senators and other government officials realize there's far more issues to worry about and stop blaming video games?

[S2Killinit]

Sad truth? He KNOWS what he is doing. He also knows that his call to ban violent media is meaningless in a free democracy because of the 1st Amendment. The real reason they do this is because they are diverting attention away from the real issue(s) that contribute to violent crimes. Such as failed educational system, guns, wealth inequality. None of which are topics they want to touch.

[RazzerRedux]

There was no crime in Chicago before Grand Theft Auto.

/s

"...Capone became crime czar of Chicago, running gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging rackets and expanding his territories by gunning down rivals and rival gangs."
https://www.britannica.com/...

[blacktiger]

and paying politician

[edwardmde]

Vehicle theft in the US was reported at a rate of 659 for every 100,000 members of the population in 1991.

Since 2009 it hasn’t gone above 260 for every 100,000 once and 2019 was the second lowest (220 / 100,000) with 2015 being the lowest (215 / 100,000)

Makes you wonder why it was so bad in 1991 when GTA wasn’t about till 1997. Must’ve been the release of Sonic The Hedgehog in 1991 that influenced those car jackings.

[RazzerRedux]

I have a sudden urge to raid my neighbors house and take all his shit.

DAMN YOU, ASSASSIN'S CREED VALHALLA!

[sourOG]

Chicago blaming video games for their shit policy lol. The 90s want their fight back. Spoiler: you lost.

[franwex]

Car jackings are up-so it must be GTA. Sure.

STDs were up in 2019 too, what game is there to blame?

[RazzerRedux]

Leisure Suit Larry?

[The_Sage]

Lol

[Skuletor]

Can blame GTA again because of the prostitutes. Can't remember if V had them though

[edwardmde]

Vehicle theft in the US was reported at a rate of 659 for every 100,000 members of the population in 1991.

Since 2009 it hasn’t gone above 260 for every 100,000 once and 2019 was the second lowest (220 / 100,000) with 2015 being the lowest (215 / 100,000)

Makes you wonder why it was so bad in 1991 when GTA wasn’t about till 1997. Must’ve been the release of Sonic The Hedgehog in 1991 that influenced those car jackings.

[badboyz09]

I'm getting G4TV memories who was that guy who wanted to ban GTA??? lol

[CrimsonWing69]

Jack Thompson?

[badboyz09]

yeah I went on youtube been over 14yrs

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

As long as the right to bare arms exists in the constitution, the call to ban ANY violent form of entertainment is just jokes to me.

[Minute Man 721]

5 disagrees.....people hate the idea of America, probably Americans 😂😂😂

[sbprost]

I'll wear a mask, but i refuse to wear gloves. Bare arms or no arms! Haha

[Kabaneri]

Maybe its decades of a corrupt city government with failed policies as well as lockdowns that destroyed the economy (which led to increased crime).

[Dirtnapstor]

This is an age-old argument. While I'll agree that certain games should have an age restrictions liken to movies, the video game genre is not the reason for the ills of the society...and Chicago's carjackings. We'd have to eliminate movies, tv, and books as well if we're going that rout.
What environmental elements (re: above) placed upon impressionable minds can be factored into one's human condition, which can be either detrimental or beneficial...providing boundaries exist and are enforced, ie. PARENTS PARENTING.

[Orchard]

I’m waiting on Jack Thompson to make a re-appearance.

[Minute Man 721]

Here we go again......

[Nuvem]

Of course videogames are to blame for that /s. Honestly SMH.

[The_Sage]

What we need to do is ban cars so that they can not be stolen.

[AnotherGamer]

Oh here we go again...

[a08andan]

Lets just ban existence since existing enables violence.

[aaronaton]

As an Englishman, can an American explain why the democrats come up with ideas like this?

[Minute Man 721]

They don't call them "Libtard" for nothing

[Minute Man 721]

@ utopiancat

I'm a Constitutionalist, F the Left and the Right

[annoyedgamer]

Oh its bipartisan. Dont you worry. This is government at its finest.

Though England has its fare share of police state problems as well.

[Futureshark]

Free Assault rifles for everyone to defend themselves against... everyone!!

[Jobu]

If only Billy the Kid didn't get his hands on red dead redemption.

[Inverno]

Acceptance is the first step to recovery. When you accept that the real issue is bad politicians and bad policies/laws/regulations then we can work towards actually finding solutions. It's high time we stop putting dumb people in charge who just deflect all their wrong doings.

[KentBlake]

Stop selling violent games, movies, books, comics and songs.

But keep the guns...that’ll stop violence.

Stupidity knows no limits.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Exactly

[JayRyu]

^^^^that part!

[onemanwolfp4kv2]

dont forget violent music. Rap is no more if that happens.

[Shikoku]

This bullshyt again? Come on man like seriously how about people raise better kids for phuck sake

[moriarty1889]

another white knighter moron trying to decide what other people should and shouldn’t be playing or watching. these people are a disease to society.

[VariantAEC]

Hey hey hey... They call him The Dark Knight.

[FlameWater]

How can this guy be a politician when he doesn't understand how laws work?

[sourOG]

That’s the vast majority of them unfortunately, at least in the US.. The establishment in both federal and state are utterly useless and incompetent.

[adamwparker]

Ban that disgusting game Mortal Kombat!!!!!
Oh...what's that you say? There's a Mortal Kombat movie coming out in a month?....ahh, that's fine. Just ban the video game!

smh

[Minute Man 721]

I remember back in '93...."We need to ban MK"

[adamwparker]

Yep. Good ole' Joseph Liebermann. His hunt against MK is what by itself had me against his presidential bid.

[Acecalibur]

Here we go AGAIN. It's 2021.

[NealGamby]

https://www.newsmax.com/new...

Democrats have a solution. They will just stop cable networks from carrying news networks that makes democratic ran cities (Like Chicago) look bad. That solves the problem, right? /s

[FunAndGun]

lol, Newsmax. Are you actively trying to get laughed at?

[NealGamby]

Why would posting a link from there warrant being laughed at? Because they are a newer news company? They are more reputable than CNN and CNN has been around for decades.

https://www.google.com/amp/...

Edit: Here's another link from a different source. I hope its up to your standards.

[DafunkyRebel]

The real reason politician blames guns and video games is to scapegoat the real reason for these problems to exist and that’s their incompetence and mishandling of domestic policies as well as decisions made in greed that led to more poverty and crime

[strayanalog]

With all that stealing, it sounds like some players are on their first mission.

[Knightofelemia]

Even if you ban it I can still order it through Amazon video games are always the scape goat and the first thing to get blamed. You make it sound like Grand Theft Auto teaches me how to hot wire a car and how to kill people with an Oppressor MK2 that does not exist in real life. You can learn to hot wire a car on Youtube and how to pop a lock on Youtube. So you want to ban violent video games but yet movies and tv programs are ok you're back asswards thinking is broken. To ban violet video games you would also have to ban tv programs, then movies, then half the artificial shit the new coughs up. Then you would have to ban and search every package that is ordered through Amazon for a violent game. And that would cost tax payers more money in taxes. Then you would have to tell online stores the game is banned in a certain state yet another waste of tax dollars I'll have what you're smoking because that is some good shit.

[RosweeSon]

Yeah ban GTA5 Only that one tho might get number 6 then 🙌🏻😂

[soulrebel]

But not guns. Keep selling guns to angry fools.

[OneLove]

Lmao do you know how long GTA has been through these moments and it's still here. As a matter of fact they reached the top of the industry😂

[GrizToof]

Yup, just ban everything you don't agree with because for some reason you're version of what is acceptable is what should be acceptable for all of us. Video games is another form of free speech, stop trying to turn America in to some PC dump where words and media is illegal if it offends somebody, that's not the American way. Freedom of expression and speech is one of the reasons why America is a great place to live.

[sourOG]

Free speech is dead in every practical sense. You would probably win a court case but that’s not stopping PayPal and Uber from banning you. Your new constitution is a terms of service. Get used to it lol.

Most Americans would give you the shirt off of their back if you were freezing but we’re just really ignorant and easily manipulated these days on a lethal scale. By dumb people like this politician who have nothing left to blame. There is no stop turning we have already turned. That American burrito has flipped lol. Cold spot where the heart used to be.

[Psychotica]

or you could tell parents to do their job..

[GoodGuy09]

Oof another one. Nice try lol.

[mudakoshaka]

I think the rise In crime is due to the lawlessness that has increased because of the unfounded protests by Antifa and other puppet organisations calling for the dismantling of law enforcement and society as we know it. Just so they can enrich themselves while claiming to do it for the "good of the people".

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Huh? We still blaming leftist groups after what happened at the Capitol? Now that's the definition of lawlessness.

[mudakoshaka]

The Capitol?? Are you retarded? Where the hell were you during ALL of last year when these Antifa a-holes were destroying cities and attacking law enforcement? You are clearly exactly the type of sheep that the elite wants as a citizen. Swallow anything that is presented to you by the mainstream media like a dog, and have yourself a treat. Good boy!

So less than one hour at the Capitol is just as bad as cities destroyed and people attacked and law enforcement being hunted for months. I like the way you think. As long as it is anti-Trump, then it is not considered to be disrupting society and ruining people's lives.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

So because I bring up the attack on the Capitol I'm sheep? Those guys were attacking law enforcement just the same which funny since they're supposed be pro police.

What happened in 2020 is shame yes, but is the result of our country neglecting century old issues. What happened at the Capitol was the result of a certain group being upset that the election didn't go their way so they tried to undermine our democracy by attempting cease the certification of the election results and assassinate members of congress and the Vice president. . . and yes I do consider that way worse than what happened in 2020.

[VariantAEC]

How do you neglect issues that have already been solved and settled like slavery, segregation and unequal housing rights?

Oh right, Americans burn their own cities down then cry fowl and blame white supremacy after caught carrying the severed appendages of the people they slaughtered along the way during "mostly peaceful protests." How could I forget? It's like enshrined in the constitution... Right?

The fact that you think the capitol riot which lasted hours resulted in a few deaths and could have been prevented if a key Democrat did their job and took those warnings seriously... But you think that - in your defense - the preventable disaster that was the Capitol Riot of January 6th 2021 was worse than over 100 days of rioting throughout the summer and fall of 2020 which caused thousands of injuries and left more that 35 people dead (that we know of - and mostly black people to boot which is ironic for several reasons but I'm running out of space) just tells me you have a slightly skewed perspective of reality.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

"How do you neglect issues that have already been solved and settled like slavery, segregation and unequal housing rights?"

White people are funny asf. . . when slavery ended did racism suddenly vanish? No. How about when segregation ended? No. Unequal housing rights, are you serious? Until a black person can walk into ANY town in the United States no matter how small, no matter how rural, without getting "what are you doing here?" looks instead of being welcomed with "let me show you around town" from white people, issues still exist.

You don't view the capitol as worse because you think the issue of racism magically vanished because slavery ended. The capitol riot was an attack on our country and democracy, but lets sweep it under rug because it was white people who were responsible for it this time and they share some of my ideologies.

[mudakoshaka]

Again, sir, you must be retarded. You are just repeating what the mainstream media is saying, all of the left have been instructed to act like children and repeat the same sentence over and over again and just ignore facts.

We were not born into this, so stop trying to make it an issue that we have created when it is part of history. This is what the leaders want, for us to fight over problems we did not create. Just so they can run away with the money. Tired of hearing of slavery and segregation and as if we do not live in a time where a person of any colour can make it in life. Is that the case? No! So stop talking as if slavery is still around.

I come from two countries that were colonised and enslaved by the Ottomans for over 400 years, what am I gonna do? Hate the turks? It is part of the past, and the colonisation by the Ottomans ended almost 60 years after slavery ended in America. So stop trying to make a problem out of an issue that has not been created by anyone who was born in the last 50 years. There will always be ignorant people, so there will always be someone who does not like someone walking in their neighbourhood. If you are white, go to Africa or parts of Asia and see if you are welcomed by the people there in a neighbourhood, or if you will be met just like a black person is in parts the south of the US.

[Ryushaa]

Dumbfukstain

[DaniMacYo]

Educate yourself fool. If anything TV and Film do a far better depiction of criminal activity then any video game ever does. TV and movies literally show us how to actually do it properly and videos games is a press of a button. Get over yourself Mr Evan ya dumb twat.

[RandomPolishGuy]

Hopefully they will go after depictions of violence in books as well. Including the Bible

[dragongod64]

How about teach people how to get along in school, Back in the day, im old lol they tought us how to get along and be kind to each other. Now a days kids learn shit, my little bro's Can't even read who do they get to teach this kids. Makes me mad and sad!

[stefd75]

Maybe ban gun first ???

[snake-OO]

Ban the game that has sold more than 100 million copies haha

[darklaw]

if video games cause violence then everyone who plays them would be extremly violent. this is not the case, very few of us are violent.

[darklaw]

Why go after video games anyway? Isn't there enough drugs and illegal stuff going on for them to focus on? I'm pretty sure buddy who carjacked someone, needs the money because he is addicted to heroin, not because he's a champ at GTA4. It's ridiculous.

[SaveFerris]

Here we go again.
https://i.pinimg.com/origin...

[drunkenspy007]

Rep. Marcus Evans is a stupid POS.

[Pro_TactX]

Studies have shown time and time again that there is no clear relationship between video games and criminal behavior. When will politicians get it through their thick heads?

[DFresh]

Stupid out of touch politicians.
They disgust me.

[Grave]

"I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." Partridge reading Yeats, in Equilibrium, 2002.