Hearing on HR 175

Last week I caught part of a hearing on PCN regarding HR 175 which pertains to violent video games. The PA House Children and Youth Committee held the hearing. It went on for a couple of hours but I only saw the first hour or so. It was the first time I’ve actually watched that much of a committee hearing. Very interesting. The three witnesses I saw were a child psychologist who discussed some of the dangers, a representative of the gaming industry who talked about the average age of gamers (20s and 30s) and what parents can do to keep children safe, and a representative of the Pennsylvania FOP, who expressed anger at games that awarded points for shooting police officers.

Rep. Jerry Birmelin chaired the meeting. Rep. Josh Shapiro is on the committee and appears to be sporting a new haircut. Rep. Wheatley fessed up to being a gamer and provided his views on things. Rep. Millard said he had never seen a video game and asked if there would be any way of getting some. Birmelin asked if Millard wanted the committee to buy one for him. There was some joking discussion of whether the budget would allow. Birmelin offers to lend Millard his grandchildren’s PlayStation.

I had to leave at that point and missed the rest of the discussion.