We wanted change?  Well it’s coming, and it’s coming fast.  Democrat Joe Baca of the House of Representatives has proposed a new piece of federal legislation known as the “Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009″.  Since this piece of legislation is federal, it means if this thing passes we can expect nationally and not just in a state or two.

The Act would put a warning label on most video games ala cigarette packs.  Something like, “WARNING: Exposure to violent games may result in aggressive behavior”.  So why does this get on my nerves? After all it’s just a silly little label.  Well it’s because these brilliant elected officials are saying that video games are bad enough for your mental health that you need to see a big, red, flashy warning sign whenever you got out and buy one.  This is absolute bullcrap.  If you’re gonna put crap like this on video games, you shouldn’t exclude all those violent films.  And death metal.  Yeah, we should slap a great big warning sign on death metal CDs.

People and politicians need to stop blaming video games for the problems of our society.  Hell the only warning sign on airsoft guns is: “Don’t eat the bullets and wear a face mask”.  Not: “Using this product could result in a desensitization to death and murder and result in violent behavior”.  The fact is that at every single turn gamers are trying to be singled out as “bad people” or “lazy people” or “NEEEEERDS”.

Maybe if politicians focused on something other than bashing video games to earn brownie points with concerned parents something would finally get done about the real problems in the world.  Here’s hoping there’s enough people with sense in Congress that will make sure this thing never passes.

***Editors Note: The Entertainment Consumers Association has launched a campaign to let your Congressman know about how much BS this is.  If you’re interested, head over there and fill out the form.***