A Chicago lawmaker has introduced a new bill that would completely ban the sale or rental of violent video games. This bill, HB3531, seeks to amend the Violent Video Games Act in the Illinois State Penal Code of 2012 to make it much more extreme.
The code currently stipulates that violent video games cannot be sold or rented to minors, but the new bill seeks to sell video games to everyone. The bill also seeks to change the definition of ‘violent video games’ to the following:
“A video game that allows a user or player to control a character in the video game who is encouraged to continue human-to-human violence in which the player kills another human or animal or otherwise serious physical or psychological damage caused. “
The bill also seeks to change the definition of “serious physical harm” to offer “psychological harm and child abuse, sexual abuse, animal abuse, domestic violence, violence against women or theft of motor vehicles with a driver or passenger in the vehicle when the theft begins” . ‘
The bill was introduced in the 102nd General Assembly this week by Illinois State Representative Marcus C. Evans, a Democrat representing parts of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs.
HB3531 was referred to the Illinois General Assembly Steering Committee, which consists of three Democrats and two Republicans. According to the Illinois General Assembly website, a trial date has not been set for HB3531.
Evans told the Chicago Sun Times that he was introducing the bill in response to the increase in car interruptions in Chicago. “The bill bans the sale of some of these games that promote the activities we suffer in our communities,” he said.
A campaign called Operation Safe Pump, led by philanthropist Early Walker, was set up in an effort to prevent car semen by sending safety personnel to places where it may occur. Walker said he reached out to lawmakers in Chicago after noticing similarities between cars in video games and what happens in the real world. “If you compare the two, you see hard resemblances associated with these cars,” Walker told the Times.
Chicago had 218 cap stations in January alone. We will provide feedback with more details on this bill as it progresses through the state legislature.