This week a broad coalition of California parents, child advocates, psychiatrists, law enforcement and civil rights leaders joined me in what is expected to be a battle regarding legislation I have proposed that would prohibit the sale of ultra-violent video games to children. I am not only the Speaker pro Tem of the California State Assembly, but I am also a parent, and a child psychologist. I have studied the violent video game industry very carefully and I have concluded, as have other experts in child health and development, that under-age children are not being protected from the harmful effects of first and third-person “shooter” violent video games.

Specifically, the legislation I propose expands the definition of ‘harmful matter to children’ to include video games that depict serious injury to human beings in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Under this proposal those who sell or rent such games to minors could be fined as much as $1,000.

Last year, I introduced similar legislation to restrict children’s access to first- and third-person shooter violent video games. The entertainment industry lobbied for months against the bill (AB 1792). As a result, it failed to pass by two votes in the Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media. Last session, however, we did succeed in passing a bill that requires retailers to post a sign explaining the video game rating system. However, since that bill passed, many new games have been introduced including games like Manhunt and JFK Reloaded, which are even more violent and more realistic. Clearly, the video game industry is not concerned with the welfare of our children and thus it is imperative that we step in to prevent the sale of these harmful games to our children. Right now, according to the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 70 percent of thirteen- to sixteen-year-olds are able to purchase M-rated (Mature) video games, which are designed for adults. Ninety-two percent of children play video or computer games, of which about forty percent are rated M.

I expect that the entertainment industry will again spend tens of thousands of dollars to protect their own financial interests. However, hundreds of thousands of child advocates from across the state, including Common Sense Media, the PTAs, Girl Scouts, and law enforcement, will be coming to Sacramento, writing letters, and calling on legislators to protect the interests of our children. I hope you join them in standing up for your kids\' safety and wellbeing.

I applaud the efforts of lawmakers across the country who have introduced similar legislation, including Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Washington, DC and Illinois. Earlier this month Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said in his State of the State Address, “For the same reason we don’t allow kids to buy pornography, for the same reason we don’t allow kids to buy cigarettes, for the same reason we don’t allow them to buy alcohol, we shouldn’t allow them to go to stores and buy video games that teach them to do the very things we put people in jail for, picking up prostitutes, joining street gangs, killing police officers or even assassinating President Kennedy. Buying these games should be up to parents -- not kids.”

I ask you all to support legislation that calls for age-appropriate marketing and sales of these games in your communities. We, in California, feel that to do so is in the best interests of our children and their mental and physical well-being.