When Will They Learn? Yet Another Video Game Law Declared Unconstitutional

from the try,-try-again dept

Some politicians, it seems, will never learn. Despite being court after court after court after court striking down each state law that would ban the sale of video games to minors, the various states have to keep trying... only to have the laws thrown out in court again. Following a temporary injunction from late last year that stopped the law from going into effect, the court has now granted a permanent injunction against the law, noting that the evidence presented by the state in support of the law was unconvincing. It tried to use some of the various studies trying to show a link between video games and violence, but the judge recognized all the typical problems with such studies, and gave some good quotes in response: "it could just as easily be said that the interactive element in video games acts as an outlet for minors to vent their violent or aggressive behavior, thereby diminishing the chance they would actually perform such acts in reality....Not only does the Act not materially advance the state's stated interest, but it appears to discriminate against a disfavored 'newcomer' in the world of entertainment media. Thus, 'singling out' the videogame industry does not advance the state's alleged goal." Why do we get the feeling this won't be the last such lawsuit or law we'll be hearing about?

43 Comments | Leave a Comment..