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Rhode Island wants to put a tax on violent video games

In the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida shooting last week there have renewed calls for stricter gun control in the US.

The state of Florida roundly rejected that call yesterday and then minutes later declared pornography a public health risk.

But Rhode Island has proposed a different sort of legislation – a tax on video games rated M or higher.

The reason for this proposed legislation? To increase mental health and counselling resources at schools.

“There is evidence that children exposed to violent video games at a young age tend to act more aggressively than those who are not,” said Rhode Island representative Robert Nardolillo in a statement.

“This bill would give schools the additional resources needed to help students deal with that aggression in a positive way,” the representative continued.

So rather than ban video games (which is not allowed in the US anyway) representative Nardolillo wants to institute a tax which will hopefully go toward improving the mental health of those that may need it.

The proposed legislation would see video games with an M rating carrying an additional 10 percent levy against the price. This tax, says the representative, would be placed into a special account for schools.

“Our goal is to make every school in Rhode Island a safe and calm place for students to learn. By offering children resources to manage their aggression today, we can ensure a more peaceful tomorrow,” said Nardolillo.

Criticisms of violent video games have become common place in the aftermath of tragedies. This proposed legislation to add a tax to violent video games actually makes a degree of sense so long as the tax actually makes it way to those that need it.

 

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