New legislation under consideration by the New York Assembly seeks to keep games that promote "racist stereotypes" out of the hands of the state's children.
Crafted lovingly by Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright, measure A01474 would prohibit underage sales of games that promoted racial stereotypes or negative actions towards specific groups. The wording, exactly:
Prohibits the sale to minors of certain rated video games containing a rating that reflects content of various degrees of profanity, racist stereotypes or derogatory language, and/or actions toward a specific group of persons.
Oh my god...this man wants to keep our children from playing Final Fantasy VII! Damn you, Barrett!
Really though, isn't this a redundant sort of bill? You don't get many games that portray young black men as gang bangers coming out with T for Teen ratings. Besides, who decides what a stereotype is? Does the game B-Boy fall under this law because it depicts minorities as break dancers? It's too general. Probably too general to pass.
According to Game Politics, Wright tried to pass a similar bill in 2007, which failed. Poor guy.
Bill Summary - A01474 [New York Assembly via Game Politics]