This was a resolution presented by Councilor George at the last city council meeting asking for the city to provide some way of warning parents of events held on city property that may not be suitable for children. An example of an event that may be considered too violet by parents may be the WWE event at Memorial Auditorium. An example George gave of how this resolution would be used was for the city to provide an option on the form for the event presenter to check yes or no to allow children at their event, making the warning completely optional.
However, the majority of the city council was apprehensive to the resolution, saying it seemed like censorship and would be going to far. If city was to decide, who would set the standards? Would boxing or other athletic events be considered not suitable? The resolution did fail to pass because of these concerns.
I thought that on the surface the resolution didn’t seem too harmful. However, I do believe that by giving the city this inch, they will take the mile. In a few years time we could see the city dictating what is suitable entertainment for everyone. I think a better way of going about this would be for a group of people to get together and privately create their own events guide with a ratings system and get event providers to agree to put their ratings on their events materials, like what the movies, music and games have. This would be completely voluntary and there would be no threat of censorship by the government. In the meantime, parents should research the events their children want to attend and use common sense and their own value judgements on whether the an event is suitable for their children.
Download Resolution: Exposure of Burlington Children to Violent Acts
