Cease and desist Petition

The following petition is a cease and desist writ to silence the afore mentioned, Jack Thompson, from acting against video game companies in his Act to stop the violence.

According to his website, http://www.stopkill.com/, he is a self made advocate against violence. On this website, he states that video games, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are responsible for the teen violence in America today. With no actual evidence to back up his theory, he is charging that the Grand Theft Auto line up can be charged with disasters such as Columbine, in which teens took weapons to school with intent to harm others. In this case, the teens were later found to have bomb making materials as well as bombs in their rooms. I would say that this falls on the heads of the parents, not a video game. GTA has also been linked, unjustly, to the sniper shootings we had a few years ago. Jack Thompson has said that the game was used as a training simulation for the shooters. This, of course is untrue as the main suspect was trained in the military.

For Jack Thompson to say that these games are the reason for the violence is un-constitutional. In fact, the only thing the GTA series can be charged with is being too realistic. In the GTA games, you play a character that does missions". In these missions you may work for a mobster, Chinese gangs, corrupt lawyers or politicians. That in itself isnt even the purpose of these games. GTA is an open ended experience for the player. In the GTA world, every thing you do has a consequence. What you do is up to you, but what you do could get you in trouble. If anything, these games are like a teaching tool. After all, what you do in reality DOES affect your outcome. If you do the things in life that get you in trouble in the game, then you will face the same consequence as you do in game. Shoot someone; the cops are coming to get you. Rear-end a cop; hes going to bust you. So it makes you think about what you are going to do. All the little things that make this game so much fun to play also make you think about what you are doing. This is simply art imitating life. Nothing more, nothing less.

If Jack Thompson wishes to punish someone, how about all the parents that buy it for their children? Instead of turning them lose with a game such as this, why not play it with them, and explain to them WHY what is being done is wrong, and what will happen if they do that? The reason is simple, Americans are too busy with everything else in their lives to even care what their children are doing. I, as do many others, own this game. I have 3 young children, ages 2, 6 and 9. They have seen me play it, and asked questions that I could easily and gladly answer.

Why not punish people who do these things in real life instead of going after the entertainment industry? If you are to go after the entertainment industry, why not go after the news? The violence our children see there is REAL. Yes, children DO see the news.

In closing, this petition is to make Jack Thompson and his colleagues STOP going after an innocent industry that is providing us with a means to enjoy ourselves. We, as Americans CHOOSE to buy and play these games. You wont hear a single person who has bought them complain that there is too much violence or anything else in these games. The complaint that there is too much violence is un-merited due to the fact that these games even sell. Its just like music and movies. There will always be violence, adult language and sexual themes in these as well. If parents take steps to assure their children know the difference between right and wrong, people like Jack Thompson will not be needed.

Stop Jack Thompson! He is spoiling everyones fun. Stop Jack from destroying our entertainment industry!