A Rhode Island representative, Robert Nardolillo III, proposed a tax levy that would raise the tax on violent video games with a mature rating. The profits from the proposed tax levy would go toward funding mental health programs in schools. According to a report from Gameindustry.biz, the tax on M-Rated games would increase by 10%.
This proposal follows a series of comments made by President Donald Trump earlier this week. During a meeting on school safety, in light of the recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Trump pointed to mature content in films and video games as a major problem:
I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts. And then you go the further step, and that’s the movies. You see these movies, and they’re so violent, and yet a kid is able to see the movie if sex isn’t involved, but killing is involved, and maybe they have to put a rating system for that.
Nardilillo, who currently has an approval rating of over 93% from the NRA, stated, “There is evidence that children exposed to violent video games at a young age tend to act more aggressively than those who are not.” However, when asked to cite his source, the representative was unable to do so. Although, as Gameindustry.biz pointed out, a study done by the Secret Service found contrasting results that “less than 20% of school shooters played violent video games.”
The Republican representative voiced concerns over giving the children of New Jersey a “safe and calm place..to learn.” He hopes his move toward making mature video games harder to get is a way to help children with their issues of aggression.
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