Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson was the champion of the very first game legislation law to be passed in the States. The law meant children were banned from accessing “violent” games in arcades. Peterson, like that very legislation, has been overturned, his campaign for a third term having ended in epic fail.
In 2001, Peterson’s game law was passed but the U.S. 7th Circuit Court demolished it, pointing out that barring violent depictions to everyone under the age of 18 could be more harmful than exposure — leaving them ill-equipped for the real world by raising them in an “intellectual bubble.” Peterson continued his crusade against so-called “violent” games, making violence in media a key issue for himself.
Turns out nobody cared.
The voters were more concerned with taxes than with games, allowing Republican Gregg Ballard to pull the upset win. While this news is perhaps only tenuously linked to videogames, I think it’s safe to say that if Peterson had concentrated on real issues and not videogame “violence,” perhaps he’d have secured that third term.
