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Oklahoma Senate OKs violent-games bill

Leslie Katz Former Culture Editor
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
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Leslie Katz

The Oklahoma Senate on Monday unanimously approved a controversial bill that would make it a crime to sell violent video games to children under 18, according to The Oklahoman (registration required).

HB3004, by Senate Republican leader Glenn Coffee, adds violent video games to a list of products--including outdoor advertisements for sexually explicit businesses--described in Oklahoma state law as harmful to minors. Coffee said studies have shown that violent games can make kids more aggressive.

The bill passed 47-0 in the state Senate, but is being held on a motion to reconsider the vote within three legislative days before being sent back to the House to vote on Senate amendments.

Earlier this month, a federal judge overturned a Michigan law restricting the sale of violent video games, the most recent in a series of decisions that have gutted similar laws on free-speech grounds.