THAT’S DEBATABLE:Games need control?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vowed to appeal a federal judge’s ruling knocking down a state law aimed at banning sales of violent video games to minors. The judge said it violated the 1st Amendment. Do you think the governor should continue the legal battle or should state lawmakers revisit the legislation and rewrite it to satisfy constitutional concerns?

I couldn’t support this poorly written bill for two reasons: It violated 1st Amendment free speech rights, and it continued the troubling Sacramento “nanny state” trend where lawmakers increasingly use the power of government to dictate ever more detailed aspects of our lives.

Might violent video games be a problem? Yes. Is it government’s job to be our nanny and tell us who can and cannot buy a video game? No. Do we want government to rate (essentially censor) video games? No.

Parents should decide. Parents should know what their children are buying and doing in their spare time. This is not government’s job. The governor needs to respect the 1st Amendment.

CHUCK DEVORE

I don’t agree with either scenario. The key to effectively dealing with unwelcome influences in our culture, be it junk food, foul language in media or violent video games, is for parents to be more involved in their child’s lives.

Our society is surrounded with influences that reasonably concern many parents. But I reject the idea of creating bigger government structures to regulate every aspect of our lives. It is the responsibility of parents to be engaged in their children’s lives, protecting them from unwanted content and teaching them to make good decisions. It is not the role of government to take away the fundamental rights of Americans to make those choices.

Instead of continuing this lawsuit (costing the taxpayers of California thousands of dollars), I would encourage the government to work with the video game industry in educating parents about the current rating system.

VAN TRAN

I am in full support of the right of parents to monitor and control the activities of their children. It is necessary to discourage children from being exposed to violent video games, which include such acts as rewarding players for killing police officers, maiming elderly persons, running over pedestrians, and committing despicable acts of murder and torture upon women and racial minorities. I voted in favor of this law when it was in the Legislature because these games should not be readily available to minors without parental consent.

TOM HARMAN