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Sue Vorenberg: Blaming the video game is a cheap shot

My Digital Toy Box

By Sue Vorenberg
Thursday, October 5, 2006

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Let me tell you about a game I absolutely loathe.

It's called the blame-the-big-pockets game - and lawyers have just started a disturbing new round in New Mexico.

I'm talking about the Cody Posey "Grand Theft Auto"-made-him-do-it lawsuit, filed last week in Albuquerque.

The lawsuit says the game "GTA: Vice City" taught Posey, 16, how to fire a gun and become an "extraordinarily effective" killer before he shot and killed his father, stepmother and stepsister in July 2004 at Sam Donaldson's ranch in Hondo, N.M.

It was filed by surviving family members of the three victims.

Never mind the neglectful and violent home life Posey is said to have grown up in. Because blaming that would lead to little financial reward - and point the finger right back at the people who should, perhaps, be looking at themselves: Family members.

No, the game made him do it.

Because pushing buttons on a PlayStation 2 system so completely emulates the aim, action and kick-back of a gun that it turned him into a perfect killer?

I think the lawyer must have been blinded by the $7 billion gaming industry's bank account to think that one up.

But suppose it was the game - do you know what that means?

There are likely more than 10 million "extraordinarily effective" gun-wielding lunatics out there itching to kill us all because at one point they owned "GTA."

I'm one of them. And I'm certainly not anywhere near an extraordinarily effective gun user.

I'd probably shoot my own foot off if I tried to use one, but that's not going to happen because the damn things scare the heck out of me.

Granted, I'm an adult, albeit an immature one, and there might be something to violent games causing kids to act out.

That's why there's a rating system. "GTA: Vice City" is rated mature - or not suitable for kids under age 17.

Posey was 14 when he shot his three victims.

Not old enough to play the game. Not old enough to own a gun. Not old enough to hold a job, even.

His parents should have stopped him from getting the game and should have paid more attention to what he was playing. But they didn't.

And considering not all parents are good parents, I'd even support beefing up the age controls so it's harder for kids to get mature-rated games.

But banning a game or blaming it for the problem? That stinks of prohibition and a violation of free speech.

And beyond that, where did the gun come from, anyway? It certainly didn't emerge fully loaded from his PS2 system.

If the Posey family's lawyer is so eager to blame big pockets, maybe he should sue the National Rifle Association and the gun industry while he's at it.

Remember, guns don't kill people; people with guns kill people.

I bet Posey ate some Twinkies while he was playing the game too. Maybe the lawyer can sue the junk food industry as well.

Or maybe, instead of any of that, the family and its lawyer should do something totally unheard of - take responsibility for their own actions.

Admit that a poor home life contributed to Posey's problems, and it was his decision and his alone to pull the trigger.

Admit that frivolous lawsuits are just a way of making your bank account fatter.

Admit that a game is just a game, and there's no excuse for real-life violence, ever.

But if it does happen - and violence has been with the human race since it evolved - point the finger where it belongs.

At yourself.