Two lower federal courts ruled against it, and now the US Supreme Court will handle it. ESA ”are hopeful” it will be struck down as unconstitutional.
”Courts throughout the country have ruled consistently that content-based regulation of computer and video games is unconstitutional. Research shows that the public agrees, video games should be provided the same protections as books, movies and music,” said Entertainment Software Association president and CEO Michael D. Gallagher.
”As the Court recognized last week in the US v. Stevens case, the First Amendment protects all speech other than just a few ‘historic and traditional categories’ that are ‘well-defined and narrowly limited.’”
”We are hopeful that the Court will reject California’s invitation to break from these settled principles by treating depictions of violence, especially those in creative works, as unprotected by the First Amendment,” he continued.
This is the first time the US Supreme Court will hear such a case, whereas before lower courts have all ruled against state laws and municipal ordinances banning the sale of violent games as a breach of the First Amendment.
What’s wrong with the Californian law? According to Reuters, it restricts the sale or rental of violent videogames that involve ”killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being” to under 18s. No Modern Warfare 2 for you kids.
Will the US Supreme Court side with videogames as part of the First Amendment? ”It is time to allow California’s common-sense law to go into effect and help parents protect their children from violent video games,” said California Attorney General Jerry Brown.
Source: CVG
