The June 2006 issue of Game Informer magazine (issue #158) featured a web site every gamer should visit: http://www.videogamevoters.org/

Set up by the Entertainment Software Association, the site gives gamers a voice to Washington. Over the past decade or so, violent videogames have been a hot-button topic among some politicians, drawing the ire of the likes of Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), Hilary Rodham-Clinton (D-N.Y.), and former vice president Al Gore's wife Tipper. They spouted a lot of talk, but for the most part it was just that: talk.

But in the past two years, California, Michigan, and Illinois have taken things a step further, passing legislation to limit the sale of certain videogames to minors. The courts have taken action to keep these laws from being enacted, but the threat is there, and the threat is real.

Videogamevoters.com is designed to educate gamers about the state of the industry as it relates to politics, mainly in posing the question as to why no other entertainment medium is facing this kind of scrutiny. Not books, not movies, not music, not television; only videogames are drawing this sort of attention from Capitol Hill.

We don't have laws keeping minors out of R- and NC-17 rated films, so why pass a law keeping 14-year-old Johnny from plopping down 50 bucks on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas?

I urge all gamers to visit this site, read what it has to say. If you're a registered voter, sign up and join the fight. You can send a letter from the site telling your Congressman how you feel about videogame legislation. I've already sent the letter to both Senators George Allen (R-Va.) and John Warner (R-Va.), and I strongly suggest you do the same.

If you're old enough to vote but not registered, get registered so you can take part in this. You can send your district's representative a letter of opinion regardless, but they're infinitely more likely to listen to you if you're a registered voter (translation: they realize you'll have the power to vote them out of office if they don't act in your best interests).

If you're not yet old enough to vote, keep abreast of the situation; this could very well affect the future of videogames, both how they're made and how you play them.

The videogame industry has been lucky thus far, with the formation of the Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB) and the comprehensive ratings system it's implemented. The ratings, which are displayed clearly on the front and back of each videogame, have helped the industry come a long way, but according to some in Washington, that's not enough.

According to some in Washington, more needs to be done. Including passing laws that could one day essentially lead to censorship. Censorship in any form is wrong, and it's up to us as gamers to let Congress know that.

So visit the site, let your representative know how you feel about lawmakers' attempts to quell the material developers and publishers give us. I'm not normally one to tell people what they should do, but in this instance, it is of utmost importance for us, as gamers and as a community, to take a stand.

On the site, Will Wright says, "We can't afford to just sit back while games become subject to government regulation! Take a stand today."

The future of videogames could depend on it.