[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 108 (Thursday, September 14, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S8606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SELLING VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES TO CHILDREN

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I see my colleague from Kansas, Senator 
Brownback, is here. I had the pleasure recently to be at a press 
conference with him, which he arranged. He had written a letter to a 
number of businesses, which I joined. Senator Tim Hutchinson and Joe 
Lieberman also signed that letter. We asked them to consider whether or 
not they ought to continue to sell video games rated ``M,'' for mature 
audiences, to young people without some control. In fact, Sears and 
Montgomery Ward said they would not sell them anymore. They didn't want 
them in their stores. Wasn't that a good response? Kmart and Wal-Mart 
said they are not going to sell to minors without an adult or parent 
present. We believe that was a good corporate response.
  I appreciate the leadership of the Senator from Kansas and his 
hearing, subsequent to that press conference, with a lot of the 
manufacturers of this product. I understand, from what I have seen, he 
was particularly skillful in raising the issues and holding these 
producers of this product to account and challenging businesses and 
corporate leadership to be more responsible because we now have a 
conclusive statement from the American Medical Association and half a 
dozen other groups that this kind of violent entertainment and video 
games have the capability of harming young people and leading them on 
to violence. That is bad for them and our country.
  I thank the Senator from Kansas.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas is recognized.

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