Illinois Legislator Aims to Prohibit Sales of 'All Violent Video Games'

Quite famously, many studies have been conducted on this issue, with no sufficient scientific evidence backing up claims of a link between games and violence.

February 24, 2021

The freedom of expression in the video game industry is once again being targeted by those who misleadingly claim there’s a connection between art and violence, this time in the state of Illinois.

As spotted by Polygon’s Nicole Carpenter on Tuesday, an Illinois legislator is aiming to prohibit the sale of “all violent video games.” Documents, per the gaming news site, were filed by Rep. Marcus C. Evans Jr. last week as part of a proposed response to a reported uptick in carjackings and other crime in the city of Chicago.

In the synopsis from the Illinois General Assembly status page on bill HB3531, the effort is described as an amendment to the Violent Video Games Law in the criminal code of 2012 that will change provisions that restrict the sale or rental of “violent video games” to minors. In short, what’s being proposed is a prohibiting of the sale of “all violent video games,” a category of games defined in the Evans-sponsored proposal as follows:

HB3531 would also modify the definition of “serious physical harm” to include psychological harm and child abuse, sexual abuse, animal abuse, domestic violence, violence against women, or motor vehicle theft with a passenger inside the car. As of Feb. 22, the bill had been referred to the Rules Committee.

Of course, multiple studies have been conducted on the effects of depicted violence in video game storylines. In March of last year, for example, an updated resolution was adopted by the American Psychological Association in which it was reaffirmed that there remains “insufficient scientific evidence” to back up claims of a causal link between violent video games and violent real-life behavior.

Other studies, including this one published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc., have even suggested that extended violent game playing could potentially lower aggression among players defined as “heavy users.”