Will
Fourkiller, Okie state rep, has proposed a special state tax on violent video games. The bill would add a 1% tax on games that receive an ESRB rating of teen, mature, or AO.
Proceeds from the new tax would go towards two new state funds devoted to childhood outdoor education and bullying prevention. Fourkiller told Oklahoma TV station KFOR that such funding was only appropriate, citing unspecified research showing video game playing being linked to obesity and bullying. There's even a game called Bully, Fourkiller pointed out, a situation he reportedly found unbelievable.
"A gentleman shot a police officer and stole his car. He had been playing Grand Theft Auto," Fourkiller went on to tell the station, likely referring to a 2003 case against Ohio's Dustin Lynch. Lynch's case was a favorite cause of former Florida lawyer and anti-game-violence activist Jack Thompson, who was also instrumental in pushing for an Oklahoma law seeking to limit violent game sales to minors. That law, passed in 2006, was struck down by an Oklahoma District Court in 2007.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/02/oklahoma-lawmakers-propose-tax-on-violent-games.ars
Several questions, the most pressing being... What is Oklahoma doing electing a democrat with such a circa 1997 website?
Second, being that he's from a state with more casinos this side of Nevada, how does he not see the hypocrisy behind his proposed tax? First amendment arguments aside, this bill appears to be on the fast track to nowhere.
Anyone see Wake lately?