Michigan Laws 722.685 – Legislative findings
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 722.685
- Harmful to minors: means having all of the following characteristics:
(i) Considered as a whole, appeals to the morbid interest in asocial, aggressive behavior of minors as determined by contemporary local community standards. See Michigan Laws 722.686state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries. Ultra-violent explicit video game: means a video game that continually and repetitively depicts extreme and loathsome violence. See Michigan Laws 722.686
In light of section 51 of article IV of the state constitution of 1963, which directs that “The public health and general welfare of the people of the state are hereby declared to be matters of primary public concern. The legislature shall pass suitable laws for the protection and promotion of the public health.”, and after hearing from expert witnesses and law enforcement officials, considering the testimony of expert witnesses before other legislative bodies, and reviewing dozens of studies and metastudies of hundreds of studies, the legislature finds all of the following:
(a) Published research overwhelmingly finds that ultra-violent explicit video games are harmful to minors because minors who play ultra-violent explicit video games are consistently more likely to exhibit violent, asocial, or aggressive behavior and have feelings of aggression.
(b) Spokespersons for not less than 6 major national health associations have concluded and testified that after reviewing more than 1,000 studies, the studies “point overwhelmingly to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children”, concluding that the effects of media violence on minors “are measurable and long-lasting”.
(c) Law enforcement officers testified that recent statewide targeted enforcement efforts reveal that minors are capable of purchasing, and do purchase, ultra-violent explicit video games.
(d) Law enforcement officers testified about cases of minors acting out ultra-violent explicit video game behaviors by victimizing other citizens.
(e) The state has a legitimate and compelling interest in safeguarding both the physical and psychological well-being of minors.
(f) The state has a legitimate and compelling interest in preventing violent, aggressive, and asocial behavior from manifesting itself in minors.
(g) The state has a legitimate and compelling interest in directly and substantially alleviating the real-life harms perpetrated by minors who play ultra-violent explicit video games.