"The whole ruling defied common sense. I am so disappointed. The federal court said we don't have a right to protect our children, but we protect our children from other things. We don't let them smoke or buy liquor." - Minnesota State Senator Sandy Pappas (D), in response to a federal court ruling against the recently passed Minnesota video game law.

I assume that I am not alone in stating I have never ingested a video game. Not one. What's more, I've never been tempted to do so. I imagine few have. It is for this reason that I ask any and all politicians who compare video games to alcohol and cigarettes to stop. If you can't debate the issue of mature video games without comparing them to drugs that people put into their bodies, then you don't have a grasp on the topic at hand, and, therefore, shouldn't be making laws that have anything to do with video games.

That goes for you, Senator Pappas. I understand that you're bitter that a judge shot down the recently passed Minnesota law which would fine underage buyers for purchasing M-rated video games (a bill that you sponsored). However, if you can't wrap your brain around the notion of parental responsibility, and the fact that parents are, overwhelmingly, the ones who purchase M-rated games for their kids, then don't give me a lecture on "common sense". What's more, there are no games that I know of where gamers score "points" for "how many women you rape, and how many cops you kill", as you stated in the interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Is it any wonder that these people keep spending tax payers' money on laws that are always found to be unconstitutional and in violation of the First Amendment?

All I ask is that our law makers take a few minutes to understand the things they are trying to censor. Otherwise, we can't have a real debate about the issue at hand, and they're just going to keep spending money on solutions to a problem that could easily be taken care of if these dollars went to public service campaigns aimed at parents. It's that easy.