Posts Tagged ‘veto’
Thompson Gets Huffy Over Veto
Did you think that the veto of gaming nemesis Jack Thompson’s pet bill would go unresponded to? Though in a sense I despise the man and his woefully ignorant and ideologically flawed purpose, I have to admit a certain fondness for the ex-lawyer, because he always makes for interesting stories.
Thompson has written a letter to Utah governor Jon Huntsman and as usual his prose shows the complete disrespect and harsh invective characteristic of someone who operates with the same emotional maturity as a child convinced that everyone is out to get him.
One of the very first things he does is insult the governor by chastising him for not giving Rep. Mike Morley a chance to alleviate his concerns before vetoing the bill. He follows this up with a shot accusing the governor of “not wanting to be confused by the facts” and immediately shows his own confusion by stating that neither the film or game industries can stop using the ratings system. A quick glance at the ESRB’s webpage informs me that the ratings system is entirely voluntary, although many retailers and console makers will only affiliate themselves with games that have been rated.
Finally Thompson attempts to punch up his arguments by including a bit of wisdom from a revolutionary-era writer before asserting that the massacre in Germany and similar incidents are directly caused by video games, instead of easy access to firearms for mentally unstable individuals.
(Thanks to GamePolitics for providing the full letter)
Utah Governor Vetoes Controversial Bill
Though Jack Thompson might have lost his ability to directly hassle the video game industry, his disbarment hasn’t completely stopped him from doing everything he can to eliminate the evils of video games from the world. Most recently he helped author a bill that was introduced to Utah legislation that proposed amendments to the ‘Truth in Advertising’ act.
It passed the House and Senate but the mewling, newly birthed bill was struck dead by a veto from Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (R). Speculation ranged from the Governor caving to public pressure from an email campaign started by gamers urging him to veto the bill to pressure from retailers.
Huntsman gave several reasons for his veto. He was concerned with the eventual revoking of this law, citing that although it had a noble aim, its incredibly broad language meant that it would quickly be struck down as unconstitutional. The Governor also revealed that in his discussions with members of the industries most affected they said that instead of risking liability for inappropriately labeled content they would simply stop issuing their products any sort of rating altogether. Huntsman pointed out that these labels are an important guide for parents.