Venezuelan violent game ban advances

Following in the footsteps of China, Germany, Japan, Brazil, and Australia, Venezuela is considering a ban on games it deems excessively violent. This week in Caracas, lawmakers voted in favor of a bill banning the sale of violent games or toys, reports Reuters. The bill was drawn up by legislators who believe getting rid of violent games will help reduce crime in the robbery-plagued country.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly announced that the game-ban bill passed its first vote in the legislative body. It must pass a second vote and be signed into law by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez before it can take effect. However, no time frame has yet been determined for the second National Assembly vote.

This isn't the first time Venezuelan lawmakers have taken aim at games. In 2006, backers of Chavez decried Electronic Arts and Pandemic's Mercenaries 2, which was set in Venezuela and where players take on "a power-hungry tyrant" in control of the country. At the time, it was decried by one legislator as "a justification for imperial aggression."

Ironically, many lawmakers in that "imperial aggressor" have themselves been trying to restrict access to violent games. Recent years have seen failed attempts to ban their sale to minors in a number of US states, from left-leaning California to conservative Oklahoma.