Judge Strikes Down Louisiana Video-Game Ban, Chides Lawmakers For Ignoring Precedent, Constitution
from the some-people-never-learn dept
States continue to pass laws banning the sale of certain video games to minors, despite the fact that those laws have been struck down by courts because they're unconstitutional in every case. State legislators keep trying to pass them to "protect the children," ignoring all the precedents, and indeed, the Constitution, in favor of scoring some political brownie points. Louisiana's law has become the latest to get struck down (via Kotaku), and the judge in the case also said the state has to pay the $92,000 legal bill the video game industry incurred in fighting the law. In doing so, he excoriated the legislature for passing the bill, when similar laws had been passed and struck down in several other states, wondering "why nobody objected to the enactment of this statute." Despite the ruling and the chiding from the judge, the representative that sponsored the bill says he might try to pass another similar law, apparently just so the state can waste even more taxpayer money.
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Ban Away
This is a complete waste of time though since most stores have their own policies where they do not sell mature rated games to minors. A good example is Wal-Mart, you have to be 17 or older to buy any video game (or the strategy manuals even) with a rating of M.
I agree with this author, it is a complete waste of time and money for the state to get involved. Just because there is not set law does not mean mature video games are being sold to any minor who wants it.
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Ban Away
When will lawmakers learn that they also have to obey the law.
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Re: Ban Away
Yet it seems that we have no problem with this and more often than not re-elect these politicians who spend their terms of office trying to get re-elected the next time around, instead of actually doing their jobs.
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Re:
( For those not in the know. Louisiana has some of the most corrupt politicians in the nation. Only Mississippi and South Dakota are worse than us.)
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Isn't Roy Burrell
How about Governor Kathleen Blanco for signing it?
If they are able to turn the tables on the law abiding public by dragging people and well intending entities through the pain, stress and expense of the court system, then why aren't they subject to facing the same legal process for repetitively attacking the Constitution?
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Why is this different than movies?
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Re: Why is this different than movies?
All I have to say is law maker just have to respect Constitution, and I bet t
will get there law passed.. What makes me mad is they want
regulate everything, game/movies/xxx/cursing/etc.. I like doing all
of those hehe.
anyways I'm all for prevent a dumbass kid playing gta etc.. but
when they try fuck with Constitution than now they playing another
ball game.
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Re: Why is this different than movies?
The FTC's most recent study on ratings systems found that 42% of the under-17 set could buy an M-rated game and 39% of them could get into an R-rated movie. Not too bad.
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Re: Re: Why is this different than movies?
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Why is one constitutional, but the other isn't?
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Ok, fine, R-rated movies are self-policed, but porn is not, that's an actual law. So why is that constitutional but regulating M games is not?
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Why should we worry about video games?
Anyways i dont have a problem with minors who play this games they arnt dumb enough to try and copy the game in real life and whats wrong with sexual contint and nudity its not like its wrong to want to see it if you think its wrong then your either gay or never seen porn. Also the constitution gives freedom of the press which is media so if one form of media is free why not all forms i thought the U.S. whas a democracy, trying to sensor a form of media and a form of art is not democratic it has totilitarian writen all over it.
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