Biden: No legal problem with taxing violent games

United States Vice President Joe Biden believes it would be no problem to tax violent games. As part of a recent gun legislation strategy meeting with religious leaders, Biden said that an idea brought forth by Reverend Franklin Graham to tax violent media could be a smart move.

Participants in the behind-closed-doors session told Politico (via Game Politics) that Biden said there is "no restriction on the ability to do that; there's no legal reason why they couldn't" tax violent media.

He also said that that he would like to see a comprehensive study done regarding the impact of violent games and movies on young people.

Reverend Graham said that funds derived from the tax should go towards helping victims of gun violence, along with their families. Excise tax on violent media is nothing new, with multiple calls for such legislative action popping up since the Sandy Hook massacre and before the school shooting.

In a landmark 2011 decision, the Supreme Court sided with the video game industry, ruling that games are protected free speech under the first amendment.