Oklahoma's Game Law Struck Down
Date: Wednesday, September 19 @ 14:46:03 UTC
Topic: Off Topic
Oklahoma's Game Law Struck Down
A federal court judge has issued a permanent injunction against Oklahoma’s 2006 videogame law, which proposed to regulate videogames dissemination, ruling that videogames are a form of creative expression entitled to protection under the First Amendment.
The law proposed that anyone disseminating games deemed to contain “inappropriate violence” to children, even parents, be fined $1000.
 Similar laws proposing to regulate videogames have already been defeated in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Washington State, Illinois, Michigan and Louisiana, reports GamePolitics, while additional victories in Minnesota and California are under appeal to U.S. Circuit Courts.
In her decision on Monday, the Honorable Robin J. Cauthron found no “substantial evidence” that video games are harmful to minors.
"Beyond Defendants' generalized statements, there is a complete dearth of legislative findings, scientific studies, or other rationale in the record to support the passage of the Act.
"Defendants' argument that 'common sense' dictates that playing violent video games 'is not good for children,' and that the onus is on Plaintiffs to prove otherwise, completely fails."
The ESA issued a response to the ruling in which president Michael Gallagher said, “We need to move past unconstitutional attempts to circumvent Oklahoma citizens’ rights. This bill was clearly unconstitutional and we now need to develop a public / private partnership that meets concerned parents’ needs.
“State officials and policymakers should work together with our industry to educate parents about game ratings and the parental controls available on all new video game consoles,” he added.
News-Source: http://www.next-gen.biz
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