Boston mayor backs violent videogame ban

The mayor of the city of Boston is backing a bill in the state of Massachusetts that would treat violent videogames as pornography, allowing the state to restrict their sale.

The Boston Herald has reported that Mayor Thomas M. Menino is backing legislation similar to other bills declared unconstitutional in Louisiana and Utah.

"Children aged 17 and under should not be sold this stuff, so they are not getting into the hands of 9- and 10-year-olds," said Larry Mayes, Menino's chief of human services.

"Is it going to be an uphill battle? Sure. But it's absolutely a battle that the mayor feels he should take on."

"I think this legislation is a good idea," said state Rep. Christine E. Canavan (D-Brockton), a co-sponsor of the legislation that will be heard tomorrow.

"I don't want this constant barrage of violence on young minds and for them to think it is all right," she said.

Opponents of the measure noted that there is no other form of media that is restricted in this way. They also noted that at least nine federal court decisions have rejected similar proposals.

"Every time states have tried to restrict access to First Amendment-protected material, it has been considered unconstitutional," said Dan Hewitt, spokesman for the Entertainment Software Association.

The district court judge who blocked implementation of Louisiana's attempted ban wrote that videogames are "as much entitled to the protection of free speech as the best of literature."