Ill. Video Game Law Shot Down

Federal Court Rules Restrictions On Violent Games Unconstitutional

(CBS/AP) 
Other states this year approved similar legislation after hidden sex scenes were discovered in a popular game, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." California's version, set to go into effect Jan. 1, is among those being challenged in court.

The Illinois law, which also was to go into effect Jan. 1, would have barred stores from selling or renting extremely violent or sexual games to minors and allowed $1,000 fines for violators.

The judge said that it would interfere with the First Amendment and that there wasn't a compelling enough reason, such as preventing imminent violence, to allow that.

"In this country, the state lacks the authority to ban protected speech on the ground that it affects the listener's or observer's thoughts and attitudes," Kennelly wrote.

A federal judge last summer struck down a Washington state ban as a violation of free speech because it banned selling to minors video games depicting violence against police officers but not other depictions of violence. Federal courts have also struck down bans in Indianapolis and St. Louis County, Mo., saying the measures encroach on the First Amendment.