Proposed legislation aims to prevent the sale of violent video games

Lawmakers in California are currently attempting to ban violent video games from reaching individuals under age 18, the California State Fullerton student-run newspaper, Daily Titan reports.

The bill would require video games rated Teen or higher by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board to be given a warning label that reads, “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”

State lawmakers cite studies from the journal Pediatrics, the University of Indiana, the University of Missouri and Michigan State University which link aggressive behavior with violent video games.

"The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families and to consumers to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products," State Representative Joe Baca told the news source.

Parent-child communication may be essential to helping teens abstain from using products that can hurt their mental and emotional development.

According to a 2008 study from the Pew Research Center, 97 percent of teens between ages 12 and 17 played video games