House OKs bill targeting violent video games

The House on Thursday passed a bill that would lump violence into the current Harmful Materials to Minors Act, making it a third-degree felony to sell violent, "mature-rated" video games to minors.

While HB257 by Rep. Dave Hogue, R-Riverton, passed, several House members said it has constitutional problems because "violence" is placed into a part of the statute that deals with pornography.

Pornography is not constitutionally protected speech, noted Reps. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake, and Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem.

While Romero voted against the bill, Fowlke said she believes it was "narrowly" defined, and so had a good chance of being upheld in court.

And that court challenge may well come, if HB257 becomes law.

"I knew I was doing something right," said Hogue, "when the ACLU sat next to me in a hearing and threatened" to take the bill to court.

Hogue read off just several well-known M-rated video games, saying "Grand Theft Auto 2" had scenes where the player killed and robbed prostitutes, and a new video coming out called "Bully" had the player beating to death schoolyard bullies.

"Is this the kind of stuff we want our children to see?" he asked.