District attorney offers free ice cream for violent video games

The district attorney for Marin County, Calif. is offering free ice cream in exchange for "violent video games" through the month of October, in an exchange program that mimicks successful firearms buybacks in his and other jurisdictions.

A story announcing the buyback doesn't describe how a video game for exchange will be judged to be violent; it appears the exchange is one ice cream per participant, not per game. The drives coincide with national Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and also will accept exchanges of toy guns.

"As we know domestic violence incidents almost always have children present and these children develop over time imprinted images of the family violence," Ed Berberian, the Marin County D.A., told the Marin Independent Journal. "These children then carry those experiences into their adult lives and often repeat the pattern of violence in their own family units."

The exchanges will take place each Saturday in October, beginning Oct. 4 in Novato, Calif. and later at three other locations. The ice cream will be donated by a local Ben & Jerry's franchise.

Berberian's gun buyback program last year resulted in 857 weapons exchanged for more than $100,000. The Marin Independent Journal noted that last year, a boy carrying an air rifle made to resemble an AK-47 assault rifle, was shot to death by a deputy in neighboring Sonoma County.