From Mouse to Gun?

Once again a group of parents are trying to sue the entertainment industry. The Associated Press on Monday reported that the parents of three high-school students who were murdered at school in Kentucky are claiming the entertainment industry and media violence made the killer do it.

The group of parents intends to file a US$130 million lawsuit in US District Court on Monday against several game companies, two Internet porn sites, and those behind the movie The Basketball Diaries.

"We intend to hurt Hollywood. We intend to hurt the video game industry," said lawyer Jack Thompson.

The shooter in the case, Michael Carneal - a 14-year-old high-school student - was a fan of games like Doom, Quake, and Mortal Kombat, and an avid computer user. On Dec. 1, 1997, he walked into Heath High School, where he killed Jessica James, Kayce Steger, and Nicole Hadley and wounded five other students in a shooting spree. Carneal has since plead guilty and is serving life in prison without eligibility for parole for at least 25 years.

Sabrina Steger, mother of one of the victims, said, "We believe the Heath shooter was influenced by the movies he watched, the computer games he played, and the Internet sites he visited.''

Game makers mentioned in the suit include Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. This is the group's second attempt at a massive suit. The first, filed in December 1998, charged the boy's parents, school administrators, teachers, and even students for being responsible for the shooting spree. But a judge dismissed the 24 defendants from that suits. Since then, the parents have sought to reinstate the 24 as defendants.