Pop Medal of Honor: Rising Sun into your PlayStation 2 and you assume the role of a U.S. Marine, using machine guns, pistols and grenades to fight the Japanese during World War II.

Sell or rent that game to a kid without a parent's permission, and you could soon be breaking the law in North Miami.

In a move that critics decry as unconstitutional, the North Miami City Council this week declared that retailers in the city must get written parental approval before selling or renting ''violent'' video games to anyone under 18.

The proposal was sparked by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a video game that has raised the ire of many Haitian Americans because it includes dialogue such as ``kill all Haitians.''

The measure was given preliminary approval Tuesday night by North Miami's majority Haitian-American council, which said Grand Theft Auto encourages violence against ethnic groups. The three Haitian members voted for the ordinance; the two non-Haitians voted against.

''We don't believe the First Amendment was written to protect those who want to incite violence,'' said Mayor Joe Celestin, a Haitian American who introduced the ordinance and is one of the game's most vocal critics.

North Miami's law appears to be the first such one in the state, according to the Florida League of Cities. Similar laws have passed in other parts of the country, and they are facing legal challenges.

Critics say that the ordinance borders on censorship, and that its definition of violence is too vague. It specifies games rated ''mature'' by the video and computer game industry. That would include Grand Theft Auto, which many retailers will not sell or or rent to people under 17 anyway.

But the ordinance also applies to ``a video game or computer game that contains realistic or photographic-like depictions of aggressive conflict in which the player kills, injures, or otherwise causes serious physical harm to a human form in the game.''

So, in theory, the Blockbuster video in North Miami could be fined for renting a child Medal of Honor even though it is rated ''T'' for teen.

MATURE THEMES

A spokesman for Blockbuster stressed that the company has long restricted the sale and rental of mature-themed movies and video games to children under 17 years old.

But ''we would certainly have some questions about who is defining what is appropriate,'' the spokesman, Randy Hargrove, said.

The ordinance elicited grumbles from Bob Richardson, who has run a small video store in North Miami since the late 1970s. Richardson, who has about 2,000 video games for rent, says councilmen are focusing too much on video games.

''Have they ever watched Cartoon Network?'' he said angrily. ``It's the most violent network on television.''

The ordinance will go into effect in two weeks if the council gives it final approval. Code enforcement officers would be in charge of issuing warnings, then citations.

If a retailer continued to rent violent video games to minors without parental permission, North Miami's code enforcement board or special master could impose fines of up to $250 per day. Repeat fines could be as much a $500 per day.

North Miami City Attorney John Dellagloria said that he plans to meet with local retailers to urge cooperation. Administrators have not figured out how many such businesses sell or rent ''violent'' video games.

''Between now and [the final vote], if it's made clear that this ordinance could not survive a constitutional challenge, then I will ask the city council to reconsider its position,'' Dellagloria said.

Nationally, the debate over violent video games has stepped up in recent years.

FEDERAL BILL

A congressman from California has sponsored a similar federal bill.

But last year, a federal judge in Seattle issued an injunction against a Washington state law that fines people for selling video games to minors that depict violence against police officers.

The judge questioned the constitutionality of the law and said ties between video games and violence were not strong enough. The case is set to go to trial in June.

Appeals courts in St. Louis and Indianapolis also have overturned similar laws.

''Video games aren't the only things that contain realistic photo-like depictions. What about books, magazines, movies, TV and everything else?'' said Howard Simon, the director of Florida's ACLU. ``This is an attempt to use the law as a substitute for parental responsibility.''

Defenders of such laws say that violent video games desensitize children to violence and foster participation.

North Miami's ordinance disturbed officials at the Electronic Software Association, a trade organization.

The group's president pointed out that North Miami's ordinance cites the Washington state law despite the federal injunction and a report by that state's department of health that shows no conclusive link between real-life violence and video games.

''We hope we can engage in a dialogue with the council in the next few weeks to find alternative ways to address the understandable concerns that gave rise to enactment of this ordinance,'' ESA President Douglas Lowenstein said in a written statement.