lbd_nytetrayn

As I posted on The Mega Man Network:

Newsarama.com has just posted this article regarding a bill introduced to the House of Representatives by California Congressman Duncan Hunter (R). Entitled the “Parents’ Empowerment Act,” it allows the parents of any minor to sue anyone who distributes materials with content that is "harmful to minors."

In this lawsuit-crazy world we live in(with the United States being one of the worst, admittedly), this could become quite a problem for many of the mediums that we enjoy, such as comic books, toys, and of course, video games.

"This bill is troubling on several levels," explains CBLDF Director Charles Brownstein. "It appears to allow for civil actions against any, or every, member of the dissemination food chain, from the retailer to the distributor to the publisher, of work that an individual parent may object to. So any citizen, using their own sense of what is obscene or harmful to minors, can bring suit. Considering that comics still suffer the cultural and legal stigma of being perceived as a juvenile medium, this bill could become a dangerous weapon in the hands of an individual who walks into a comic book store and is shocked to find that comics offer much more than Archie and Superman."

Naturally, this could potentially pose a threat to those things we enjoy. With any luck and hopefully some common sense and foresight, the bill will not be passed, but as an extra measure, those interested in preserving the integrity of the things we enjoy should take time to write their Congressman, stating(maturely) how absurd one finds this proposed bill, and voice their concerns.

News credit: Shiv'kala, Newsarama.com

In addition to what I'd written there, it's been mentioned that Hollywood(and I'd like to think maybe the RIAA, making them USEFUL for once) would use their collective pull to make sure this doesn't happen.

LBD "Nytetrayn"