Video games kill people.

The time has come that we finally bring the perpetrators of youth violence, like the Doom, Resident Evil and Grand Theft Auto series, to justice.

So goes the thought process of politicians and parents.

Bills like the Family Entertainment Protection Act, sponsored by presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, are crude crutches for crippled methods of raising children.

Contrary to popular belief, the origin of youth violence doesn't rest in the Mushroom Kingdom or radiate from secret devices lodged in the Playstation 2.

The U.S. Surgeon General's 2001 report states that the strongest risk factor for school shootings and other violent acts is not media exposure, but mental stability and quality of home life. These statements have yet to change.

The deep roots of violence are buried in layers of neglect, traumatic childhood and substandard supervision.

Delusional politicians and irresponsible parents would rather point fingers at the media than use them to unearth the true source of this problem.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa., made the point that graphic scenes from Grand Theft Auto were sure to harm a child whose father is in jail or whose brother is dealing "down on the corner."

The fact that a child's father is a career criminal, or that his next available role model pushes cocaine for a living, is given a verbal shrug of the shoulders. Mr. Pitts reasons that instead, video games are the cause for a child's violent behavior.

Anti-gamers and politicians argue that gamers cannot distinguish reality from fantasy. Yet, the same people so in-tune with reality watch a few scenes from Grand Theft Auto and shriek in horror.

Don't they realize that this tiny electronic is only a game?

Henry Jenkins, co-director of Comparative Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of several books on this topic, agrees that most studies show a "correlation, not a causal relationship, which means the research could simply show that aggressive people like aggressive entertainment."

Children are priceless and should be protected.

But Jenkins also notes that 62 percent of console consumers and 66 percent of the Personal Computer (PC) consumers are age 18 or over.

Gaming companies stand to make the most profit from mature, developed adults. There is no sinister campaign to lure children into a dark corner and then warp their morals with graphic images.

Children's hungry young minds simply can't digest some of the content present in video games and the general media.

But in order to be played in the first place, these games have to be purchased or rented. If children were the primary concern of their caregivers, maybe their Boy Scout wouldn't be playing BMX XXX.

Again, the grave roots of youth violence escape those who blame the problem on fantasy gameplay.

Leave the video games for the gaming community to enjoy.

The 99 percent of gamers who haven't shot up their school should be left to enjoy their favorite hobby.

Here's a proposal that will actually benefit Americans. Make the purchasing, viewing and playing of video games illegal for all anti-gamers, politicians and uninformed parents.

These parents and politicians have made it clear that they are the ones unable to distinguish fact from fantasy.