Bill A08696 has been passed by an overwhelming 130 – 10 vote.

That means it will be a class E felony, 3 to 4 years imprisonment, to sell “ANY VIDEO GAME WHICH INCLUDES DEPRAVED VIOLENCE AND INDECENT IMAGES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE TO A USER” to a minor.

Strangely enough I can no longer find copies of the previous two bills, S05888 or S05941 which strikes me as odd. S05941 Was the bill that first introduced the class E felony penalty, and included the various legal defenses allowed. S05888 was already voted through. Yet I cannot find copies of either bill in the New York Assembly web site. Is this bizarre, or is this the status quo for New York legislative procedure?

I recommend the game retailers in New York move to another state where the law makers aren’t so concerned with appealing to their base that they’ll throw someone in prison for selling video games. A strike might work too. Protests?

My best wishes go out to you, you poor retailers. Not only do you have to deal with the occasional mouth-breather convinced that you’re his friend because you don’t immediately tell him to shove his head up his own ass, now you have to worry about going to jail for selling said mouth-breather GTA just to get him out of your damn store.

Thanks to GamePolitics.com for the heads-up.