Shameful Human of the Week: Richard Blumenthal

The Supreme Court of the United States is set to rule this October on a California law that would “ban the sale of certain video games to children under the age of 18.” This week’s Shameful Human is a particular supporter of that law, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (what is it about Attorneys General and video games?).

Mr. Blumenthal is running for senate, and is behaving like a classic politician taking advantage of the “think of the children” crowd. He’s also displaying some pretty amusing ignorance along the way. To show his support of California’s law, he released a statement to the press in which he hails the law for its ability to prevent children from buying games featuring the “slaughter [of] nude female zombies,” which, as we all know, is a disgusting act, well beyond the relatively tame practice of killing nude male zombies.

Another highlight from Blumenthal: “California’s law doesn’t broadly prohibit minors from buying ‘violent’ games — but a subgenre of games that encourages players to commit graphic acts of homicide, rape, and sadism.” Huh, I’m curious to know what games the Attorney General is referencing. Perhaps its those Japanese rape simulators that are already unavailable in the United States. I’m not entirely certain.

Regardless of what Blumenthal thinks video games encourage, it’s obvious he either doesn’t know, or doesn’t want to know, how the regulation of sales of video games currently works. Just like with movies, an industry which Dick B. points to as a potential example for gaming, the ESRB is voluntary and actively enforced by retailers, to the extent that potential buyers are IDed before they pick up M-rated games.

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