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Citizens Against Personal Censorship is a non-profit interest group dedicated to preserving the civil liberties of the American public. Although CAPC has been founded in opposition of interest groups such as MAVAV, and Coalition Against Violent Video Games, our tenets are in no way conclusive only to the pressure being placed in the video game industry and the people who play these games. At this moment however, we find it vital that the infringement on the freedom of citizens in America, whether they be parents who chose to allow their children to play potentially violent videogames, or the children and teens who personally play the games for personal recreation.

A great deal of this sites purpose in the matter of recent anti-videogame laws is attributed to the denouncing false information posted by many anti-gaming groups and politicians. It is only fair however, that we also give links to the websites of opposing parties, so the falsities posted by these groups can be easily seen.

Furthermore, it has been claimed by several organizations and politicians that videogames are addictive, and that they cause violence and low-test scores in students in our society. This accusation seems somewhat ill informed when you take a moment to look into the causes of most crime in the US. Criminals do not commit crimes because of games or movies, the commit crimes out of anger, personal need, and frustration.

If it were true that violent videogames create violent people, then why is it that according to the US Bureau of Justice overall crime rates in the US continue to drop? The following is a link to the webpage of the US Bureau of Justice, giving statistical evidence that crime rate’s are not only unaffected by violent videogames, but crime rates in the US have continued to fall starting in 1994, which is also approximately the same point video games began to grow in popularity. This is not to say that videogames played a role in lowering crime rates. But it is quite obvious that crime rates have not grown as a result of any videogames.
Link:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/house2.htm

(Just a side note): We at CAPC find that the recent incident regarding the game, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” is a somewhat unique situation. We do not deny that the extreme violence and sexuality, which is displayed in the game, is inappropriate for children, however, it is the right of the parents to decide what they wish to allow their children to view and play. The game has been clearly marked and rated for mature audiences only, and as reasoning the list includes: violence, and mature sexual content.