A few weeks back, we reported that several arcade games had been removed from various rest stops that adore the Massachusetts Turnpike.
The titles in question were light gun games, Time Crisis and Beach Head 2000 to be exact, which the Massachusetts Department of Transportation removed because it had determined that such violent games have no place in such a environment (and we all know how rest stops by the highway are such vital cornerstone of families across this country).
Well, as Kotaku reports, the pro-free speech advocacy group known as National Coalition Against Censorship has taken the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and their actions to task.
Here's an excerpt from a letter that was sent to transportation secretary Richard A. Davey:
"There is no legitimate state interest that could be asserted to justify removing specific games to appease the sensibilities of certain motorists," she wrote in the letter provided to Polygon. "Moreover, by caving to the demands of one passer-by, the Department will inevitably invite others to register complaints about material they deem inappropriate. It is not a stretch to imagine someone demanding a ban on certain DVDs, magazines, or books. Perhaps other travelers will think it is inappropriate to broadcast news about war or crime, or other televised content. It is no more acceptable for the Department to remove certain kinds of video games than it would be to selectively remove other materials in rest stops and concessions because some motorists find something in them objectionable."
The National Coalition Against Censorship goes on to state that video games are certainly not for everyone, but they have the right to be there, just like any other form of expression.
