Future of games in Danger

For the past few years Government politicians have tried to censor our video games and ban many violent video games from being released. A particularly memorable example of this would be Jack Thompson's crusade against video games. However in all of those casses one thing has protected us -- the 1st Amendment. Video games and the video game industry (like many other formats of media such as books, music and movies) fall under the 1st Amendment which grants them immunity from the laws these politicians have been trying to put forth.

Video games may soon loose this protection.

Soon the Supreme Court of America will look at a new piece of legislation declairing that video games do not fall under the 1st Amendment and puts the Gaming Industry on the same level asalcohol, tobacco, and guns. This opens video games wide open for attack from censors and even outright ban later on. What is really at stake here? Well to quote Hal Halpin, President of the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA for short) which is the organization representing the video game industry in this case:
"Gaming in America. Yes, you read that correctly."

In a few months the future of our favorite hobby will be decided in America. Don't think you non American's are safe either. Other nations will look at the results of this legislation when planning for the future. Should this succed in court you can expect other countries to follow in their footsteps.

The removal of Gaming's 1st Amendment is rediculous. Movies and books can be just as violent and have as much of a mental effect as a video game will but they still get this protection. Violent video games can even calm a person and remove stress that may have lead to violence (a study on this was just put out: http://gamepolitics.com/2010/07/12/study-playing-violent-games-helps-stress-and-depression ) contrary to these politions have been pushing.

You may be asking by now "How can I help?" Well there is a few different ways you can help out in this very important issue. The first thing you should do if you are an American is to sign the petion located at: http://action.theeca.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1781
This petition is being run by the ECA (the organization that is helping represent our case) and will be presented in court when this new legislation is discussed. The petition won't change the out come too much but EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS! And please enter your true information (we don't want a whole ton of fake entries to reduce the petition's crediblity.

If you are not American you are kind o left out of this petition. But there are other ways you can help out.

First of all spread this news. Gamers need to know whats happening and that their favorite pastime may be in danger. Post this message to other communities you are in so that they can help out with this petition or help spread the word.

Get educated on the issue. Find out about different polititions and their views on this issue and vote accordingly when given the chance. Some good websites to find info are: Game Politics:http://www.gamepolitics.com/ and the official ECA website: http://www.theeca.com/

Get a subscription to the ECA. The ECA is a non profit organization that is helping represent us in our struggle against backward thinking Government Officials. A subscription is 20 bucks a year and that money will go toward representing the gaming industry and helping prevent legislation such as this from being accepted. A membership gets you a regular email news letter on the games vs government debate, it will also get you discounts to various services that contribute to the ECA such as IGN, Direct2Drive and many more, plus entry into various givaways. You can check it out at http://www.theeca.com/ . They also have some information on the issue.

All gamers whether you are on the PC, Xbox, or Playstation, if you are a FPS gamer, a stratagy gamer, or a RPG gamer are affected. Its time to put aside our wars and work together to put the word out, support this petition, and help out in any way avalible. The future of our games depend on it.