[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 175 (Monday, December 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H12752]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CALLING UPON RETAILERS TO REMOVE VIOLENT AND DEGRADING VIDEO GAMES FROM 
                             STORE SHELVES

  (Mr. DEUTSCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to this Chamber's 
attention a disturbing trend in video game entertainment: Grand Theft 
Auto: Vice City, a video game made by Rockstar Games, Inc., contains 
violent and discriminatory messages, urging the player to ``kill the 
Haitians'' and ``kill the Cubans.''
  As an elected official who represents an ever-expanding population of 
Haitian Americans and Cuban Americans, I am deeply disturbed by the 
inflammatory and anti-immigration message contained in this video game. 
These messages run counter to the very principles on which this Nation 
was founded: as a haven for all of those who seek freedom and equality.
  I stand before the House today calling on my colleagues to join me, 
along with many elected officials, to urge retailers to remove this 
divisive product from their shelves and Internet Web sites immediately.
  The Haitian and Cuban communities in America represent a core of law-
abiding, hard-working model citizenry that embrace family and 
community. They are valuable segments of our society who, as others 
before them, seek to live the American dream.
  It is shocking and disheartening to know that games with such 
dehumanizing messages against these groups are routinely sold to 
children across the Nation. This sort of insensitivity and degradation 
cannot be tolerated.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in calling upon retailers to remove 
this game.

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