Democratic State Representative Marcus Evans pointed to ‘Grand Theft Auto’, which depicts scenes of violent car thefts, robbery and general criminal activity as inspiration for what is happening in his home district.
‘Grand Theft Auto’, the first installment of which was released in 1997, is the main issue, he said.
Evans said he plans to introduce a bill to ban the sale of wildlife in Illinois.
“‘Grand Theft Auto’ and other violent video games appear in our young people’s minds and perpetuate the normalcy of hoods,” Evans said. “Hood is not normal and hood must stop.”
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Evans also thanked community activist Early Walker on Monday for launching ‘Operation Safe Pump,’ in which security teams patrol gas stations, to protect people while pumping gas. It was recently extended to other nearby cities as a retired police officer was targeted last week and hijacked with a car hijacker.
Walker agrees with Evans’ conclusion about the game, in which players steal cars as part of a larger plot of organized crime.
“Representative Evans and I investigated and concluded that these very young offenders of car hijacking are strongly influenced by the Grand Theft Auto video game,” Walker said. “I really believe there is dual support for banning the sale of this game in Illinois.”
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