This week G4tv.com has been covering the upcoming US Supreme Court case Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchant Association and Entertainment Software Association. Basically, the case is trying to make it illegal to sell M-rated games to minors. Which on it’s surface it seems rather harmless, but when you dig just a little deeper it clearly is not. follow the link above to read several indepth articles which cover both sides of the case.  While the case upsets me greatly, there is something deeper in this whole issue which has nothing to do with the face that I am a confessed video game player.

This case is aimed at preventing a repeat of such horrors as the Columbine High, Virginia Tech, or University of Texas shootings. These law-makers claim that the reason these happened in the first place was the training the aggressors gained from playing video games (or murder simulators as these law-makers like to call to them). Nevermind the fact that not one of them have played a game, a fact they are all to willing to share. Their whole argument has nothing to do with video games or protecting children what-so-ever.

In my opinion, California is far to concerned with making it as easy as possible to blame anyone but yourself for your actions. “It’s not your fault you killed those people, video games trained you and drove you to it. Rather than finding holding you accountable for going into your shooting spree, we need to go after the people who created, programmed, and sold you the video game. Mom and dad, who sold this poor innocent victim the murder simulator in question?”

California has clearly taken up the wrong side in this conflict. The guy who takes a gun to their school or workplace and opens fire is NOT the victim.

Also, this is not about “protecting children”. It is clearly about finding someone or something to hold up as evil, so you can show how you are trying to stop said evil. Thus justifying your job, and drawing attention from the glaring flaws (ie California’s bankruptcy) which you are doing nothing to rectify, because you are too busy “protecting the children”.