Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto franchise has long been at the center of controversy. There have been numerous attempts to ban or censor Grand Theft Auto games over the years, though the games have consistently been found to be protected under the first amendment. There’s now a renewed effort to get Grand Theft Auto 5 banned from sale, as a US lawmaker is blaming the game for people who have been committing carjackings in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois.
As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, Rep. Marcus Evan Jr. filed HB3531, which looks to amend an existing law preventing the sale of certain games to minors. The amendment would effectively ban video games like Grand Theft Auto 5 that show “psychological harm,” like “motor vehicle theft with a driver or passenger present” from being sold to anyone, regardless of if they’re a minor or an adult. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Evans introduced the amendment after being contacted by Early Walker, who runs Operation Safe Pump, an organization hoping to curb the recent rise of carjackings in Chicago.
Walker believes that Grand Theft Auto 5 is a “huge issue” and can be blamed for some of the carjacking activity in the area. “When you compare the two, you see harsh similarities as it relates to these carjackings,” Walker told the Chicago Sun-Times. Walker believes that banning Grand Theft Auto 5 from sale will help with Chicago’s carjacking problem. Other Operation Safe Pump efforts include assigning security guards to gas stations and other areas that have high rates of carjackings.
There have been countless studies done on a potential link between video games and violence. Some studies have shown a rise in aggression in people who play video games, though that’s not necessarily due to the violent content in the game, but rather due to the competitive aspect of those games. Other studies have shown no significant link between video games and real world violence. Despite this, it seems people will continue to blame video games for acts of real world violence.
Trying to ban Grand Theft Auto 5 from sale doesn’t seem like it would be all that effective. Presumably, people would still be able to purchase the game digitally, and not only that, but Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the best-selling games ever, with over 140 million units sold and only beaten by Minecraft. With so many used copies floating around, it seems like banning the game from sale now would do little, even if it was causing people to commit carjackings.
Video games are often a scapegoat for politicians to explain real world violence. Following mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio in 2019, then-President Donald Trump blamed video games and called for regulation of the industry. Trump’s comments were criticized by Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Reggie Fils-Aime, Ninja, and others. Ultimately, no new video game violence regulations came from the situation.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is out now for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
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