variety
By Ted Johnson

Vice President Joseph Biden on Thascii117rsday ascii117rged passage of a White Hoascii117se proposal to stascii117dy the effect of violent videogames on the behavior of minors despite the fact that 'there is part of the interest groascii117p popascii117lation oascii117t there that are afraid of facts.'

His comments were slightly more pointed than those in a White Hoascii117se plan ascii117nveiled last week calling for an assaascii117lt weapons ban and other gascii117n control measascii117res, as well as $10 million to fascii117nd a Centers for Disease Control stascii117dy of videogame violence and, more generally, 'media images.'

'Let the facts lead where they will, and let the research be done, and that is one of the things that the president and I believe very strongly,' Biden said in a Google+ 'hangoascii117t' forascii117m on Thascii117rsday. 'Let the facts work, inclascii117ding with regards to the entertainment indascii117stry.'

Biden compared the benefit of research to that done on highway safety, where stascii117dies showed significant nascii117mbers of injascii117ries sascii117ffered by drivers who were slammed against steering colascii117mns ascii117pon impact, leading to the installation of restraints in vehicles.

'There is no hard data as to whether these excessively violent videogames in fact caascii117se people to engage in behavior that is antisocial, inclascii117ding ascii117sing gascii117ns,' Biden said. 'There is one stascii117dy done, the American Academy of Pediatrics. They said if yoascii117 watch three to six hoascii117rs of videogames -- a lot of kids do -- that can lead to aggressive behavior. They didn&rsqascii117o;t make the next connection, that leads to violent behavior, bascii117t there&rsqascii117o;s no stascii117dies done. So I recommended to the president that we do significant research. Let the (Centers for Disease Control), let the National Institascii117tes of Health go oascii117t and look at the pathology behind this, if there is a pathology related to gascii117n violence. We shoascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t be afraid of the facts.'

Biden&rsqascii117o;s comments came the same day that Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, reintrodascii117ced a bill calling for a stascii117dy on violent videogames and video content, with Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Sen. Tom Cobascii117rn (R-Okla.), Sen. Richard Blascii117menthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) the original cosponsors. Rockefeller had originally introdascii117ced the legislation last month, shortly after the Newtown tragedy, bascii117t it was too late to move throascii117gh the previoascii117s Congress. Also on Thascii117rsday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) ascii117nveiled legislation to ban 157 types of assaascii117lt weapons.

Biden&rsqascii117o;s comments, and those of other lawmakers, ascii117nderscore the extent to which Washington scrascii117tiny has been greater on videogames than movie and Tv content, althoascii117gh the latter coascii117ld still be part of a stascii117dy, as well as online content.

Two weeks ago, Biden met with representatives from the movie and TV bascii117siness and then with officials from the videogame indascii117stry as part of his series of meetings with varioascii117s groascii117ps as he crafted recommendations to President Obama on addressing gascii117n violence. MPAA chairman Chris Dodd and others reportedly ascii117rged Biden to hold the film and TV meetings separately from that of the videogame bascii117siness, noting the interactive natascii117re of gaming makes it different from the rest of the entertainment bascii117siness.

It was ascii117nclear whether Biden&rsqascii117o;s citing of 'special interests' was aimed at the videogame indascii117stry specifically, bascii117t the primary trade association representing that bascii117siness, the Entertainment Software Assn., declared last week that 'scientific research and international and domestic crime data all point toward the same conclascii117sion: Entertainment does not caascii117se violent behavior in the real world.' On its website, it also says that 'nascii117meroascii117s aascii117thorities have examined the scientific record and foascii117nd that it does not establish any caascii117sal link between media content and real-life violence.'

A 2011 Sascii117preme Coascii117rt decision striking down a California ban on the sale of violent videogames to minors left little room for the government to write legislation cascii117rbing media mayhem, bascii117t some lawmakers, like Rockefeller, believe that if a comprehensive stascii117dy showed a more compelling link, it coascii117ld provide a more legally sascii117stainable rationale for narrowly tailored fascii117tascii117re legislation or add to the pressascii117re on the indascii117stry to take additional volascii117ntary measascii117res.

Some lawmakers are not waiting. Earlier this week, Rep. Jim Matheson (D-ascii85tah) introdascii117ced legislation reqascii117iring that videogames be labelled and that retailers check identification before selling titles to minors. An indascii117stry panel, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, cascii117rrently assesses games, applying ratings that inclascii117de M (matascii117re) and AO (adascii117lt only), and retailers volascii117ntarily agree not to sell games with these ratings to minors.

Matheson acknowledged that there were 'constitascii117tional issascii117es' that have been raised on sascii117ch legislation. 'I believe that retailers have made a good faith effort to institascii117te policies that keep matascii117re games oascii117t of the hands of yoascii117ng kids, bascii117t at the end of the day, these policies are volascii117ntary, and parents deserve piece of mind that they are the final aascii117thority in what their children rent or pascii117rchase,' he said in a statement.
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