While many jurisdictions have tried (and failed) to put legal barriers in place to prevent children from buying or playing violent video games, Calfornia's Marin County is taking a different tack, asking families to voluntarily trade in their violent video games for ice cream and raffle tickets.

The Marin Independent Journal has a report on the county's efforts for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which include weekly opportunities to trade in violent video games or toy guns. Participants will be provided with ice cream from the local Ben & Jerry's affiliate, according to the report, and parents of those participating will be entered in a raffle for further prizes.

The toy and game drive is being spearheaded by District Attorney Ed Berberian and the Center for Domestic Peace, who teamed up to host a firearm buyback program that took in over 850 weapons two years ago. Why move from collecting real guns to collecting fake guns and games that feature fake guns?

"Children reflect the culture they live in," Marla Hedlund, development and community relations manager for the Center for Domestic Peace, told the Independent Journal. "This is really all about having a conversation with our community and our children about the culture of violence. We're trying to inspire people to become part of the movement to create peace in a violence-free environment."

Many scientific studies have shown that playing violent video games does not actually lead to more violence in children, though there are still some who debate those findings. One study has shown that challenging games can lead to increased real world "aggression" immediately after playing, whether they're violent or not, which should be obvious to anyone who's hurled a controller at a wall in frustration.

Early last year, President Obama included funding for CDC research into the effects of violent video games in a national address on stopping mass shootings.