With the recent revelation that Grand Theft Auto IV will be set in a transparent stand-in for New York City, the state's politicians are already touchy on the subject of violent games. More are raising their voices, as today state Senators Andrew Lanza and Martin Golden called for a "crackdown" on violent games and said they would introduce legislation to keep kids from being exposed to inappropriate games.

　　The pair revealed three specific measures that their legislation will include. First of all, the senators want to establish an advisory council to monitor the effectiveness of the Entertainment Software Rating Board in keeping adult games out of children's hands. The members of that council would also develop policies for education on youth violence.

　　The second specified measure would make rating labels mandatory on all games sold in the state, new or used, either in stores or online. Those who sell unrated games despite this would be fined and penalized, with the revenue derived going to fund the senators' third proposal.

　　That proposal is a Parent Teacher Anti-Violence Awareness Program, "which will empower parents and teachers to work with students and children on issues related to violence in video games." In addition to increasing awareness of the ESRB ratings, the program would advocate proper parental supervision.

　　Earlier this week, New York governor Eliot Spitzer said he would introduce legislation to restrict children's access to "explicit and excessively violent" games.