Pennsylvania Lawmaker, Christopher Quinn, has introduced a bill that would add a 10 percent tax to the sale of video games with an M rating due to violence, blood, gore, or sexual content.

Despite multiple studies showing otherwise, Quinn believes that kids playing violent video games is part of the reason for increased violence in schools.

“One factor that may be contributing to the rise in, and intensity of, school violence is the material kids see, and act out, in video games.”

The Entertainment Software Association claims that the bill is a violation of constitutional rights. The ESA cited the US Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association & Entertainment Software Association.

The tax collected on the sale of the games would fund the Digital Protection for School Safety Account to attempt to aid school safety.

Clearly, Quinn hasn’t done his research on the subject and is targeting video games as they are the easiest target. Other sources of violence, blood, gore, and sexual content are easy to find. Movies, television, the internet, national and local news, etc. are all “guilty” of the same things that Quinn is blaming on video games.

Not only is the choice of blaming violence on video games an outdated argument, but the tax won’t protect kids at all if parents were protecting their kids in the first place. Kids shouldn’t be playing M rated games in the first place. M rated games are strictly 17+, that’s what the rating clearly defines.

If Quinn wants to blame anyone for children being exposed to content, blame the parents who let their 7 and 8 year olds play extremely mature games, watch extremely mature movies, etc.