Why aren't they trying to ban driving as well?  I mean there have been many cases of road rage in which someone kills another person and yet all we hear about are videogames.  I think if a person has a very bad temper or is just wired the wrong way then it's likely that eventually something is going to set the person off.

Because they make an easy scape goat. Its a lot easier to legislate videogames than something like television or the internet. That and most politicians are complete idiots with no common sense.

It's "scapegoat", by the way.

They target video games for the same reason that music was targetted in the 60s and 70s: because it's popular amongst the youth of America, and thus makes for provocative campaign slogans when trying to get (re-)elected. Just as such attempts as legislation failed 40 to 50 years ago, they'll fail now; their purpose is not even to put a stop to video games of any type, it's to get people who want power the attention they feel they need to get that power.

Well, the main reason is that politicians are not interested in actually solving problems they're only interested in getting (re)elected so they propose solutions which are popular with the largest group of people ... Violent videogames make a good scapegoat because (of people who can and do vote) few people play violent videogames.

At the same time, I think there is some reason to be worried about the influence of violent videogames; in particular the influence of violent videogames on younger gamers. It is believed that a vividly imagined event can be as powerful as actually being part of that event, and this is used in several types of therapy (and sports psychology) in order to get results out of people. As videogames become more realistic (and potentially immersive) what kind of impact does performing violent acts really have on a person? I'm not saying these games should be banned, but I don't think it is wrong for people to question their impact.

>Why do politicians try to single out violent videogames to ban?

Because her name is Hillary Clinton? :P

Yes, a vote to Clinton is a vote for Thompson.

*yeah, I said it*. ;)

The causes for violence in society are very complex and blaming it on video games is a simple answer. Talk of censoring games also makes constituents feel like a politician is doing something.

You mean like movies are now?  Movies like Hostel seem to be far more realistic than games out now and likely even for the foreseeable forture.

Thompson wants an outright ban on games that he personally objects to and Hillary Clinton wants to add fines to retailers who sell M rated games.. that's a pretty big difference. I don't agree with her at all but to say the two are the same is really unfair.

they target violent games....


because they are violent. its kinda obvious. lol.

but seriously, they think that if kids kill all kinds of people in video games they may try it in real life one day. 

Thompson wants to murder you, while Clinton just wants to stab you a few times. Yes, there are always differences between 2 people, but to me, both are enemy of the gaming industry out of pure utter senseless ignorance.