Jack Thompson and Utah AG have spat

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 20th 2007 at 12:15PM }

Earlier this week, Utah's Jack Thompson-authored video game bill was pulled by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff because he believed the bill would be found unconstitutional. This, of course, sent Thompson into a whirling tizzy and caused him to do the typical press release pimp-slap against Shurtleff.

Thompson writes, "This is a constitutional bill. I ought to know. I drafted one nearly identical to it for Louisiana, and we got it passed unanimously... The federal judge declared it unconstitutional because, he said, 'there is no evidence that these games are harmful. The Attorney General has provided me no evidence.' And the judge was right, because the Louisiana AG took what we call 'a dive.' ... because he wanted the law to fail."

Thompson is in Utah today giving a speech at the ultra-conservative Eagle Forum in Salt Lake City -- so we're sure some lovely barbs will be thrown at Shurtleff. AG Shurtleff probably wasn't too keen on having Utah suffer the same fate as Illinois, which was forced to pay back the gaming industry the half-million they spent fighting a similar bill that was deemed unconstitutional. Next stop on the Thompson anti-game express: Massachusetts. All aboard!

Tags: bill, jack thompson, JackThompson, law, utah

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ritz @ Jan 20th 2007 12:29PM

"And I ought to know. I had my last near identical bill declared unconstitutional also. ...wait a minute, here, let me spin that." - JT

Ace of Sevens @ Jan 20th 2007 12:26PM

First post!

The ridiculous thing about this is that Shurtleff didn't pull the bill. Obviously, he can't. The sponsor did on Shurtleff's advice.

Catma @ Jan 20th 2007 12:48PM

The fact that all of these bils keep getting declared unconstitutional would give any normal human being the hint that there is little that can be done. Then again since when has JT been a normal human being?

jharr @ Jan 20th 2007 12:52PM

Mark Shurtleff is a great guy. Remember this video that was posted on joystiq a while back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1JTPsEeeuM&eurl=

I think that it is awesome that he defends video games.

Les Doodis @ Jan 20th 2007 1:13PM

Wish I'd known about this sooner. I'm a Utahn and would like to have met Jack with a banana cream pie at the airport.

micheal82 @ Jan 20th 2007 1:27PM

What's Jack Thompson's major malfunction? Doesn't he realize that every time he pushes one of his attacks on videogames he makes himself look foolish. "I ought to know because we got an nearly identical bill passed in Louisiana. But that bill got declared unconstitutional by the federal courts. He even got Illinois stuck footing an half million dollar bill because of one of his illegal bills thaty he gotten passed. Little Tommy shooting up his school is not the fault of video games its his parents fault. If Little tommy's parents was to pay attention to their little boy instead letting the tv or the playstsation raise him we wouldn't have some of these problems. Jack instead of focusing on the games why don't you focus on bad parents.

Virtuous @ Jan 20th 2007 2:14PM

There must be millions of space cadets in the US just like Thompson!

scott @ Jan 20th 2007 1:52PM

"This is a constitutional bill. I ought to know. I drafted one nearly identical to it for Louisiana, and we got it passed unanimously..."

And Utah ought to know that it's unconstitutional from all the other states blowing his idiocy out the window for the same reasons. Good job, Jacko. A state passed an unconstitutional bill, and then threw it out. Pat yourself on the back for another failure.

Prediction:
-The next state declares whatever he proposes unconstitutional or
-It passes, gets rejected later and adds to the money owed to the game industry for Jacko's screw ups.

Quit while you're ahead, Jacko, or behind rather.

makesevenupyours @ Jan 20th 2007 5:40PM

as a mormon conservative 16 year old in utah, i am very happy about this. when he compared smoking to gaming, i just about did a backflip. i couldnt believe what i read.

honestly, its just a form of entertainment. nothing more. i dont wanna go on a killing spring, i dont want to shoot anybody or do drugs or anything(even though that would apperently be better). i dont see any indication that video games have had a bad effect on my life. maybe i procrastinate on my homework a little, but is it even on the same level smoking? i just play for some fun and to have a good time with my friends.

csc @ Jan 20th 2007 2:06PM

Wait a second........people blame video games because they know theyre more likely to get away with it, just like pleading insanity. Ole Jackie boy is only encouraging that.

And if we're all going to use specious reasoning like him, we could say that.

JACK THOMPSON CAUSES SCHOOL MASSACRES!

someone propose a bill quick!

diskoboy @ Jan 20th 2007 2:13PM

Why hasn't this idiot's license to practice law been revoked yet? Will someone please explain this to me? He's clearly abusing his power as an attorney.

Jon @ Jan 20th 2007 2:32PM

Why jack, why me? The sad part is I'm currently living in Utah, but will be returning to my home in Boston soon, so it's a lose-lose on the JT front. Fortunately I have my handy Penny-Arcade JT shirt...Personal Responsibility surrenders. Let the government handle it.

John Galt @ Jan 20th 2007 2:16PM

I'm from Mass, and I have allready contacted my state reps. I'm encouraging my buddies to do the same. The sooner we send this idiot packing, the better.

Brogan @ Jan 20th 2007 3:33PM

is he saying that he wants evidence that video games are not harmful? how exactly does one prove something like that. isn't it impossible to prove a negative you'd have thought being a lawyer he would know this that's.

puppetguy @ Jan 20th 2007 3:13PM

Anyone know where I can get a monkey puppet like that?
That thing looks awesome!

nintennuendo @ Jan 20th 2007 4:12PM

I think jack thompson is great. He reminds me every day that we have evolved from crap-flinging monkey and into crap-flinging tie-wearing monnkeys.

From Oregon @ Jan 20th 2007 5:51PM

Jack, would you rather have kids shoot at virtual people and aliens that do not exist? Or would you rather have kids shooting at you? Think about if you are even capable of such thought processes.

RyanD @ Jan 20th 2007 6:02PM

Ho boy, this guy used to be something. I'm not sure when but it was funny as hell when the Penny-Arcade guys handed his own arse to him!

Grunge @ Jan 20th 2007 6:04PM

I love his feud against Janet Reno:

"Thompson gave Reno a letter at a campaign event requesting that she check a box to indicate whether she was homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Thompson said that Reno then put her hand on his shoulder and responded, “I’m only interested in virile men. That’s why I’m not attracted to you.” He filed a police report accusing her of battery for touching him."

That's from Wikipedia, and quite possibly the funniest thing I've read all day.

Pwnut-Butter @ Jan 20th 2007 6:11PM

#16
What? You're saying that after playing a FPS you don't want to go headshot the first person you see on the street? Oh.. Well, me neither.

I too am from Utah, and I'm so glad we have an AG that doesn't put up with Jackies crap. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a PA "I HATE Jack Thompson" shirt. I'm just waiting to see what he says at the Eagle Forum.

vidGuy @ Jan 20th 2007 6:12PM

I renew my statements:

Until the day the U.S. proves game violence causes a threat to society, the government has ABSOLUTELY NO legal interest in the issue. Until that time, it is a private matter to be handled by consumers and parents.

Why can the government enforce seat belt laws? Because they have been proved to reduce deaths and increase safety, thus giving the government a legal interest into the private life of citizens. Why can the government enforce no-smoking laws in public areas? Because second-hand smoke has been proven to be harmful and the government has a legal interest in protecting its citizens.

Until the day game violence is proven to cause a real threat to society, proving legal interest for the government, EVERY attempt to block the sale of game violence will be deemed unconstitutional.

This is why the state must provide "evidence that these games are harmful." And considering there are hundreds of millions of people that refute that claim, I wouldn't expect JT to be successful in blocking game violence in the rest of his lifetime.

eggfou @ Jan 20th 2007 6:16PM

Am I the only one who thinks this guy could be a good replacement for Doug Lowenstein at the ESA? He clearly understands the issues, and I bet he has connections, and he is not afraid of JT.

Xian! @ Jan 20th 2007 7:25PM

@#6, micheal82:

Jack Thompson will NEVER go after bad parents. They make up his entire support base!

Nathan Searcy @ Jan 21st 2007 12:45AM

Jack Thompson, in the state that I live in? Ugh, I hope he slips on the ice and hits his head.

Matthew Mac @ Jan 20th 2007 8:49PM

Heh, if anyone's curious about some of the events of the Utah fiasco, there's a story with some good quotes in it, if its okay to post.

http://www.thatgameblog.com/2007/01/20/thompson-attorney-generals-are-pansies/

DarkTetsuya @ Jan 20th 2007 8:52PM

#6: But your forgetting he lives in the fantasyland of JackThompsonburg, where JT rules, and everything always goes his way. If he says black is white, then so be it.

#8: Didn't you know 'videogames made me/him/her do it!' is the new insanity plea?

#9: No idea, but I'm counting the days, just like everyone else.

#20: Well unless you count scoring a headshot against JT himself... but I guess that'd just prove him right huh?

Infil @ Jan 20th 2007 9:44PM

If you all are interested in reading more about delusional humans, look up Gene Ray or Time Cube on Wikipedia. I just heard about this the other day, and boy was it a good read. JT kind of reminds me of this guy.

Nathan M @ Jan 20th 2007 10:42PM

"Jack Thompson will NEVER go after bad parents. They make up his entire support base!" That comment wins.

Gratz to the Utah AG, we need more people with common sense.

jjevil @ Jan 20th 2007 11:09PM

One thing I fail to understand.

When you read about legislation to ban or restrict video games, it seems to be an isolated attack. Kids aren't sitting around playing violent videogames and then watching Mr. Rodgers on TV, listening to christian music, reading the Bible and eating dinner with the family while having wholesome conversations. If kid's minds are being poisoned by violent media, then by extension shouldn't we restrict access to:

- Most movies and television.
- Popular music.
- Shakespear & other books depticing violence and sexuality.
- Paintball, Martial Arts, & Contact Sports.

Where's the boundary?