SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a California law that sought to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 2005 law violates minors' rights under the Constitution's First and 14th amendments. The three-judge panel's unanimous ruling upholds an earlier ruling in U.S. District Court.
The law would have prohibited the sale or rental of violent games to anyone under 18. It also would have created strict labeling requirements for video game manufacturers.
In a written opinion, Judge Consuelo Callahan said there were less restrictive ways to protect children from ''unquestionably violent'' video games. For example, the justices said the industry has a voluntary rating system and that parents can block certain games on video consoles.
The law's author, state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, said he wanted Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
''We need to help empower parents with the ultimate decision over whether or not their children play in a world of violence and murder,'' Yee, a child psychologist, said in a statement.
A spokesman for Brown said the attorney general would review the decision to determine the appropriate steps.
California lawmakers had approved the law, in part, by relying on studies suggesting violent games can be linked to aggression, anti-social behavior and desensitization to violence. The justices dismissed that research.
''None of the research establishes or suggests a causal link between minors playing violent video games and actual psychological or neurological harm, and inferences to that effect would not be reasonable,'' Callahan said in her ruling.
The law never took effect and was challenged shortly after it was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. A U.S. District Court blocked it after the industry sued California over constitutional concerns.
Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Camille Anderson said the governor was reviewing Friday's ruling.
''The governor believes strongly we have a responsibility to our children and our communities to protect against the effects of video games depicting ultra-violent actions,'' she said.
The Encino-based Video Software Dealers Association, now known as the Entertainment Merchants Association following a merger, and the Washington, D.C.-based Entertainment Software Association argued that California's restrictions could open the door for states to limit minors' access to other material under the guise of protecting children.
The court agreed, saying California was ''asking us to boldly go where no court has gone before.''
''The state, in essence, asks us to create a new category of non-protected material based on its depiction of violence,'' Callahan wrote in the 30-page ruling.
Michael D. Gallagher, president of the Entertainment Software Association, said the ruling underscores that parents, with help from the industry, are the ones who should control what games their children play.
''This is a clear signal that in California and across the country, the reckless pursuit of anti-video game legislation like this is an exercise in wasting taxpayer money, government time and state resources,'' Gallagher said in a statement.
Courts in several other states have struck down similar laws.
_________________ If it's got wings, i can crash it!
While it is true that video games do not produce a violent child/adolescent, the fact remains you're never going to have parents explain to their kids the difference between reality and fantasy.
I think there should be no ban. It'll piss a lot of minors off, sure, but blame those several million dumbass kids who have parents that don't give a shit about their kids, and just let them play whatever they want.
Maybe I'm wrong, let's see if something develops, should this ban go into effect. _________________ John R. Gibson
Host/Writer/Creator Video Masters TV
"The whole planet Houston?" -General Zod
"Am I supposed to conduct with my penis?" -Peter Griffin (Family Guy)
"What does God need with a starship?" - Star Trek V
And the company guys think they have a problem with people downloading now,just you wait the moment you ban videogame, those games are going to the top list of games downloaded illegally.
Honestly i think i was 12 maybe 13 when i played Doom, Root, Wolfenstein, Hexen, Heretic, Duke Nukem 3D.
All of those games where pretty violent by that times standard heck didnīt effect me in anyway.
I think its the same with most kids these days 90% of them can with little to no trouble at all tell the difference between reality and fiction.
And the company guys think they have a problem with people downloading now,just you wait the moment you ban videogame, those games are going to the top list of games downloaded illegally.
Apparently, we've learned nothing from prohibition.
Erikjust wrote:
I think its the same with most kids these days 90% of them can with little to no trouble at all tell the difference between reality and fiction.
These days, you'd be surprised at what kids will do to get their mits on games they shouldn't be playing. Especially since parents are to busy, or too lazy to raise them.
_________________ If it's got wings, i can crash it!
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