Mitt Romney is vowing to go after retailers who sell violent video games.

I want to restore values so children are protected from a societal cesspool of filth, pornography, violence, sex, and perversion. I’ve proposed that we enforce our obscenity laws again and that we get serious against those retailers that sell adult video games that are filled with violence and that we go after those retailers.

Compare Romney’s stance to big-government liberals like Richardson and Obama.  Both want better rating systems to inform parents as to the content of video games.  That’s a common sense approach.  But Mitt Romney doesn’t want that.  He wants to “go after” the people who sell the games.

Which is utter nonsense.

For one thing, video games aren’t just for kids any more.  There are a lot of adults (myself included) who play video games, and adults should be able to purchase violent video games if they want without interference from do-gooder busybodies like Mitt Romney.

For another, what ever happened to personal responsibility?  If a violent video game ends up in the hands of a kid, is it the retailer’s fault or the parents’ fault?  After all, at $300 for a video game console and about $50 per video game, for the most part it ain’t kids who are buying these games.  It’s parents, and if parents buy their own kids violent video games that their fault, not the retailers.

Ratings systems?  Sure.  Education to help parents understand these games and the rating systems?  Sure.  But going after people just for selling these games?

That’s the hallmark of a nanny state candidate who conservatives concerned with individual freedom and responsibility shouldn’t be supporting.