Oklahoma state rep wants violent-game tax

Taxing something because someone thinks it's negatively affecting people sounds good in theory, but in the end we all know it's just another way for the government to get our money and get the country deeper into debt.

Oklahoma needs to find a legitimate way to make money instead of targeting a minority group of people that play violent video games. Will Fourkiller you sir are an idiot.

LOL -- bizarre level of irrelevance between the two categories of concepts (gaming and bullying), except for the GS editor who wisely posted that pic of "Bully". :)

ah please, people already payed their tax... and what the govt spend them on? Wars....

Pathetic -_-

No.

I don't agree with this bill but at least he is not trying to ban the selling of violent games and the money does go to a good cause.

Coming from a person that lives in the district he is from in Oklahoma, I think this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I'm not voting for him next election. I'm also going to make sure my friends know about this absurd bill too.

Seems like an odd idea to base a law on a rating system that people aren't required to use.

Solution for bullying: just kill the worthless f***ers

No. Just no. A law banning minors from playing violent video games is fine, since minors shouldn't be playing violent games. However, punishing adults form playing them is wrong.

really,when is the maddness goin to stop...also,coming from a state that bans tatoos am not surpized...

Does Oklahoma have a tax on soda, fast food and cable tv? Kids are just has likely to get overweight and cause bullying with those.

doesn't affect me directly but I hope this gets stopped not only because some people in my State might think it's a good idea, but because I don't want my fellow gamers to suffer this way

that sounds as dumb as having an R-rated movie tax or taxing porn

Not all "T" rated games are violent, guitar hero was rated "T" for example

Just read the title and nothing else. What an uncreative idiot. What a moron. I'm right. The end.

*sigh*

isnt sims 3 rated teen?

So all Teen-rated games are violent? lol no. There are plenty of games without violence that receive a T rating for song lyrics, nothing more.

You cannot blame a video game for a person's actions. If a person has some kind of personal issue, then that's the problem, not the games. Many people play hours of shooting games, like me, and no violence appears. It's all in the personality, not the games.

His name made me laugh though, "Fourkiller", so ironic. Also its a bit strange to call a murder a gentleman "A gentleman shot a police officer and stole his car"

lol it is the same with movie,tv show, etc he should just tax everything that has violence in it. l have a better idea when ever someone says a curss word they put a dollar in the state jar and use that money... lol

""A gentleman shot a police officer and stole his car," Fourkiller said. "He had been playing Grand Theft Auto. Not everybody is going to react the same, but I believe after hours and hours of watching the screen, playing the video game, being that person and taking on that role, people get desensitized." " Very loose information there, if you want to tell us a story then give us all of the information, not just the info that suits you best because you can twist it and make it work for your argument...I could be wrong, but i expect that is either another made up story, or it was just a coincidence...there are millions of people who play GTA, and just because one of them commits a crime does not mean anything, dont jump to ridiculous conclusions. I hate when stories like that are used for dramatic effect...often for misleading purposes.

We are aware of bullying...its not like its not been news now...PLEASE Mr. Fourkiller...find something else to deal with...we got a whole country on the virge of collapse due to a piss poor economy. We're going to hell in a hand basket and you reps and politicians are worried about B$ like this. Either do your job as in do it to fix more serious...more pressing issues or be replaced...simple as that.

@emperiox Right or wrong, don't bring political BS into this. This is one of the few places on the net where we aren't being hit over the head by it. Bash the legislation and the author all you want, we all know this guy is a jack@ss and his bill a waste of time and money, but don't be spouting political views here. This isn't proper forum for that.

F*** off taking shots at this industry, there are far better ways to raise money for these problems than some pathetic bill. Its just a stupid way to discourage developers from producing games which include violence...which is completely stupid. Why not tax ridiculous casual games instead? or games that use motion controls? Why do people always try to change things they dont have any knowledge about?

They just wanna make more money to put into their own pockets.

Take note, kids, when government wants less of something, they tax it. Keep that in mind the next time you're filing your income tax return.

Oklahoma: good for allergy inducing mountain cedar, bad drivers, and idiotic state policy that will only hurt local retailers. Unless this affects online sales also, which I doubt since sales tax usually isn't charged, the only people this will hurt is local retailers. At 1%, that's not enough of a financial deterrent to stop anyone from getting anything they want, either. That's a whopping $0.60 on a full priced game. Yep, this is about revenue generation, not "protecting youths."

How about a tax on the caviar that this and other fat cats like him in office enjoy...

Ummm good one

I would also like to add that I seriously doubt this bill has been introduced out of concerns for youth rather than just another money-making scheme.

@Morpheus9950 I know that, but it still has to go through the Republican controlled house. I really don't think the Democrat who introduced it expects it to pass, especially against a Republican controlled house. The industries' lobbying will be too strong...and let's face it: the entire Republican party is bought.

lol someone wants their name in the spotlight :)

@emperiox Too bad he's a democrat.

@FarmFreshDX You can't legislate morality?! Then why do we have thousands of laws that do just that? Do you honestly think murder and theft are acceptable practices? I recommend you move to Somalia to see how well your anti-morality legislation works out for you. You won't last long. (Please note: I do not support this bill)

Why Teen games? So someone in Oklahoma would have to pay a tax if they buy a Final Fantasy game? Unbelievable.

@Landsharkk Ha! Good point, only I'd just use it when I play the most violent video games...I bet that'd make him mad ;) Fourkiller as a gamertag to play Call of Duty. Yup, genius idea...thanks. :D

Maybe instead of citing Bully, they should mention Pac-Man. Violent video games make us all into mindless murderers, obviously a game about eating will make us all having eating disorders too. Got the urge to build something? That's probably Minecraft influencing your brain. And lately I've seen way too many people shooting birds at pigs with slingshots, so an extra Angry Birds tax should probably also be considered. All of that sound stupid? This proposal literally sounds just as dumb to me.

One more reason to not like Okies. jk.

"Fourkiller" Oh, the irony. Might want to get his last name changed, or else they may tax it as offensive.

All I had to do was read the title to know it was a Republican introducing it. I hate lobbyists. : /

Well now Americans know which state not to buy games in...

"...but I believe after hours and hours... people get desensitized" Great, go ahead and base this new bill on your personal assumptions alone. Why don't you do some research first? just open freaking Google and there you go. And just so you know, ESRB ratings depend on a lot more than just violence. Is the Sims 3 violent? No but it's rated T for a couple other reasons, are you going to tax it? This has BS written all over it.

You can't legislate morality. The junk food tax was laughed out for the same reasons. I'll be incredibly surprised if this goes through.

Well its a good thing my wife and I travel from OK to KS a lot, so I will just have to pick all my games up there.

will this one percent tax, make parents teach their kids how to socialise, no. will be able to contract a skilled nutritionist, to teach good eating habits for children, no. So where these taxes will go? To dark place called "The Politician's Pocket".

... So what about the tax on violent film and music? Where's that may I ask? Oh? Those mediums are too mainstream to turn into a scapegoat? Ahh I see. Hypocrites

Okay, this is absolutely ridiculous. Punishing a creative medium for displaying violence is pretty damn close to a form of censorship--you're imposing restrictions on developers that force them to think twice about using their imaginations and creativity. Why not tax PG-13 and R-rated films while you're at it? After all, not only do those films show violence, but they also show *gasp* sex and nudity! Clearly, it's creative mediums such as these that are the problem with the youth in America today. Instead of doing **** like this and wasting everybody's time and money, why don't you make a wise decision and put some money into public education? That way, not only would I not have to worry if I'd be one of the 5+ staff members at my school left jobless because of ****ing "budget issues," but also children could get the most out of their schooling. But no, you go ahead and keep blaming violent video games for all the country's problems with youth. Because quite frankly, between the No Child Left Behind Act, the shrinking annual budget for public education, and the amount of prescription drugs children are prescribed for being themselves, trust me when I say this: Video games should be the LEAST of your ****ing concerns.