A bill on the way to becoming a law in Washington state would make it illegal to sell kids the kinds of games that the bill's backers say lead to real violence. It would make selling M-rated games to those under 17 a Class 1 civil infraction with a penalty of up to $500. It awaits a Senate floor vote after passing unanimously in the Children & Family Services & Corrections Committee last week. It passed in the House March 18 by an 81-16 vote.

Some facts: The average age of a video-game player is 28; Only 13.2 percent of all video games sold in 2002 were rated M; Adults are present 83 percent of the time during the sale of video games, either buying them or accompanying their kids; Children buy only 15 percent of games on their own; The sum of all those numbers is that we're hardly looking at an epidemic of inappropriate game purchases.

That hasn't stopped politicians. California Democrat Rep. Joe Baca's "Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2003," would make selling M-rated games to minors a federal crime, with even harsher penalties: $1,000 the first time and not less than $5,000 afterward. A previous version of the bill died in committee, and that's where the current one is at the moment.