Calif. State Senator apologizes for saying that gamers have 'no credibility' in the discussion on violent entertainment

Californian State Senator Leland Yee back-pedaled on comments he made to The San Francisco Chronicle last week when he said that gamers lack credibility in the discussion on violence in video games and need to be quiet.

In the original comments, Senator Yee said: "Gamers have got to just quiet down. [They] have no credibility in this argument. This is all about their lust for violence and the industry's lust for money. This is a billion-dollar industry. This is about their self-interest."

Senator Yee clarified these comments on Twitter soon after, saying that he didn't use the best words when he spoke to The San Francisco Chronicle and he has a lot of respect for many gamers.

Gamers, I admittedly didnt use best words to SFchron. Meant video game industry has inherent conflict of interest in the gun violence debate

— Leland Yee (@LelandYee) January 25, 2013

I have a lot of respect for many gamers - many are on my staff and in my family - but the industry has profited at the expense of children.

— Leland Yee (@LelandYee) January 25, 2013

Senator Yee's comments in The San Francisco Chronicle were originally made in the wake of the Sandy Hook killings, which once again placed the video game industry under scrutiny. Yee has long been a vocal critic of video games and the video game industry, authoring a bill in 2005 to ban the sale of ultra-violent games. The bill was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.