Retailers of R-rated Material equal to Sex Offenders.

[DopeyCB]

I came across this while checking out the Entertainment Merchants Association (http://www.iema.org/) website. Not sure if any of you had heard about this or not so I thought I'd bring it up and see what everyone had to say on the matter.

Illinois Sex Offender Law Revision

A bill before the Illinois legislature (House Bill 40) would have required any retail clerk convicted of distributing to a minor material that is legally "harmful to minors" (i.e., obscene as to minors) to register as a sex offender for 10 years. Working with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, we made the legislature aware of our concerns with this proposal, as a clerk who makes a mistake in selling or renting such material to a minor should not treated the same as a rapist or child molester. We were also concerned because we have seen clerks threatened with prosecution under the "harmful to minors" laws for selling or renting an R-rated DVD to a minor. The bill failed to make it out of committee before the deadline for action; it, therefore, is now inactive (but could potentially be revived).

[Pelor]

wow... that would make a sex-offender list absolutely useless...

[Silver]

I fail to see how selling what is considered to be harmful to a minor automatically makes you a sex offender.

Logic fails, once again.

[georox]

That media raped their child's mind! :O

[DopeyCB]

I fail to see how selling what is considered to be harmful to a minor automatically makes you a sex offender.

Logic fails, once again.

Easy you sell something that contains sex to a minor and its like you're sexually harassing or assaulting them.... or at least thats what they're trying to say....
which is confusing, especially if the retailer mistakenly sells it to a minor and doesn't realize it until they're being hit with a lawsuit or something.

[Rhaigun]

While I agree retailers should be held more responsible for selling explicit material to minors, I think this may be going a little far. A fine on the store itself is fine, but don't criminalize the employee.

[PyroHazard]

While we are at it, why don't we give minor drug dealers the death penalty for distributing potentially lethal substances to children.

Won't someone think of the children?

[BaronJuJu]

While I agree retailers should be held more responsible for selling explicit material to minors, I think this may be going a little far. A fine on the store itself is fine, but don't criminalize the employee.

I agree. That will do nothing but make the sex offender registration worthless.

Law enforcement agencies regularly due stings on bars selling alcohol to minors,why not have the same kind of set up here? Law enforcement has a kid walk in and try to buy a AO/M rated game. If they are successful the cops walk in and cite the store with a fine. I guarantee that an incident or two like that in front of other customers, plus a hefty fine each time (and have it increase each time they are caught) will change a stores attitude very quick and they will start taking the ESRB a bit more seriously.

[kurisu7885]

I agree. That will do nothing but make the sex offender registration worthless.

Law enforcement agencies regularly due stings on bars selling alcohol to minors,why not have the same kind of set up here? Law enforcement has a kid walk in and try to buy a AO/M rated game. If they are successful the cops walk in and cite the store with a fine. I guarantee that an incident or two like that in front of other customers, plus a hefty fine each time (and have it increase each time they are caught) will change a stores attitude very quick and they will start taking the ESRB a bit more seriously.
No, No, that wouldn't be far enough. have a SWAT team ready to storm the nest of anti christs, then seize all the game discs and set fire to them in the parking lot, destroying the evil, then have the store "employees" publicly beaten and humiliated before receiving a literal life sentence. [/end sarcasm]

ya, I think that'd finally make anti gamers happy.

[BaronJuJu]

No, No, that wouldn't be far enough. have a SWAT team ready to storm the nest of anti christs, then seize all the game discs and set fire to them in the parking lot, destroying the evil, then have the store "employees" publicly beaten and humiliated before receiving a literal life sentence. [/end sarcasm]

ya, I think that'd finally make anti gamers happy.


LOL...eh,ok

[kurisu7885]

LOL...eh,ok

Sorry for that, my sanity slipped, again >.>

[TheUnholy]

wow... that would make a sex-offender list absolutely useless...

The sex-offender list isn't exactly the greatest help as is. There are still a lot of people that are on the sex offender list for stupid acts (that's another topic). But you are right. What good will that do concerned citizens if practically everyone that has sold/rented a rated-R is on it? Further more think about the hardships someone will go through for 10 YEARS because of selling/renting out a video to a minor.

We are all already guilty.

[ZippyDSMlee]

I would rather not get into joining law and media sales, since any backwater town can find anything offense think if they started lowering the bar just a bit and started labeling those that sale PG13 stuff to 11 year olds or worse yet get a group of hollier than thous start filling the sex offender ranks with thos that sale harry potter stuff....believe me when I say its better to have retail fire and fine their employees then to set a law that could be corrupted by the fundie or wacko horde.

[MachShot]

I have this idea, but its crazy. Ah, I'll tell ya anyway!

How about we make this list, called the sex offenders list. But here is the catch! You actualy have to have molested or raped someone to be on the list!

Yeah, it's stupid and would never work. Crazy me.

[ZippyDSMlee]

I have this idea, but its crazy. Ah, I'll tell ya anyway!

How about we make this list, called the sex offenders list. But here is the catch! You actualy have to have molested or raped someone to be on the list!

Yeah, it's stupid and would never work. Crazy me.

but but but where would the teens go who screw their same age or 2 year difference lovers?
0-o

you need a more PC list!
LOL

[MachShot]

but but but where would the teens go who screw their same age or 2 year difference lovers?
0-o

you need a more PC list!
LOL
Now you are really going to flip out when I say this.

>_>

<_<

Nothing.

Crazy, I know! Jesus won't stop crying unless we treat 17 year olds who have sex with 15 year olds the same as a middle aged man who brutaly rapes an 11 year old. I'm insane! Put me on the list before I go on with more crazy ideas... like a list for ex-murderers! We all know that teenagers having sex is worse than homicide so making a list for murderers would be hypocritical and un-politicaly correct because they already served their time.

[Darth_Toxic]

But.. What about all the R-Rated movies that don't have sexual content in them? Or violence, for that matter?

Take Wes Anderson's awesome movie, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou for example. There's about a split-second non-sexual on-screen appearance of a breast, and people say the f-word a few times. Some people get shot, but there's no gore or anything like that. And it's rated R.

Or how about The Blues Brothers? There's no sex or violence. Someone says the F-word once or twice, and the N-word is said once (by a black guy), but other than that, it's basically PG-level. But it's rated R.

Then, look at the animated film, Wizards. Loads of blood and gore. Some Nudity and otherwise strong sexual stuff (The main female character is wearing a see-thru top and thong for the entire film, and there's actual brief toplessness from other females. She also makes offers of sex practically every time she's in trouble. That's just the tip of the iceberg.) Lots of 'damn's, 'hell's, 'bitch'es, 'bastard's, and a 'slut' or two. Plus, there's the fact that the villains are demon-nazi things, with swastikas, 'master race' talk and all. And yet, it's only rated PG.

I could go on with stuff like this all day.

[kurisu7885]

But.. What about all the R-Rated movies that don't have sexual content in them? Or violence, for that matter?

Take Wes Anderson's awesome movie, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou for example. There's about a split-second non-sexual on-screen appearance of a breast, and people say the f-word a few times. Some people get shot, but there's no gore or anything like that. And it's rated R.

Or how about The Blues Brothers? There's no sex or violence. Someone says the F-word once or twice, and the N-word is said once (by a black guy), but other than that, it's basically PG-level. But it's rated R.

Then, look at the animated film, Wizards. Loads of blood and gore. Some Nudity and otherwise strong sexual stuff (The main female character is wearing a see-thru top and thong for the entire film, and there's actual brief toplessness from other females. She also makes offers of sex practically every time she's in trouble. That's just the tip of the iceberg.) Lots of 'damn's, 'hell's, 'bitch'es, 'bastard's, and a 'slut' or two. Plus, there's the fact that the villains are demon-nazi things, with swastikas, 'master race' talk and all. And yet, it's only rated PG.

I could go on with stuff like this all day.

The Heavy Metal movies also contain such theems as well.

[Darth_Toxic]

But they're still Rated R.

[kurisu7885]

But they're still Rated R.



I know. While if it were a video game, it'd be rated AO.

[ZippyDSMlee]

But.. What about all the R-Rated movies that don't have sexual content in them? Or violence, for that matter?

Take Wes Anderson's awesome movie, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou for example. There's about a split-second non-sexual on-screen appearance of a breast, and people say the f-word a few times. Some people get shot, but there's no gore or anything like that. And it's rated R.

Or how about The Blues Brothers? There's no sex or violence. Someone says the F-word once or twice, and the N-word is said once (by a black guy), but other than that, it's basically PG-level. But it's rated R.

Then, look at the animated film, Wizards. Loads of blood and gore. Some Nudity and otherwise strong sexual stuff (The main female character is wearing a see-thru top and thong for the entire film, and there's actual brief toplessness from other females. She also makes offers of sex practically every time she's in trouble. That's just the tip of the iceberg.) Lots of 'damn's, 'hell's, 'bitch'es, 'bastard's, and a 'slut' or two. Plus, there's the fact that the villains are demon-nazi things, with swastikas, 'master race' talk and all. And yet, it's only rated PG.

I could go on with stuff like this all day.
Food of the gods is rated PG t should be,a sex sence and rats eating people really tis horror genre PG13 at the least...

the MPAA has been around longer and has not had to deal with the spotlight a lot it dose have some protection from polis but it can seem to do no wrong with everythign else is "evil"

I would love to see the ESRB rate movies tho they are simply better at what they do :P

[ZippyDSMlee]

anyone care to take a stab at why DOOM was R and POTC2 was PG13?

[MachShot]

Because it would be more profitable if Parents would bring their children to see it. The MPAA does this all the time.

[ZippyDSMlee]

Because it would be more profitable if Parents would bring their children to see it. The MPAA does this all the time.

All the time? I would not say that,theres at least 10 movies over the years I can think of that either scuff the PG13/R line or is a R movie but has a lower rating, and sometimes a PG13 movie gets a R because thats what they requested.

the ESRB might skirt the levels now and then because they have a "living" rating panel that changes constantly.