Louisiana Nixes Violent Video Game Ban
A state law that would ban sales of violent video games to minors violates free speech rights and cannot be enforced, a judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge James Brady said the state had no right to bar distribution of materials simply because they show violent behavior. Brady issued an injunction saying the law is an "invasion of First Amendment rights of both video game producers/retailers" and the minors who play the games.
"Depictions of violence are entitled to full constitutional protection," Brady wrote in issuing the injunction Thursday.
Louisiana is the latest in a string of states, including Minnesota, Illinois, California and Michigan, that have had similar video game bans blocked in the courts. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Illinois ordered that state to pay over $510,000 to three business groups — including a plaintiff in the Louisiana case — for legal fees incurred in fighting a similar state law.
The Louisiana law was challenged by the Entertainment Software Association, a trade group whose president issued a statement criticizing Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the state's lawmakers for approving such a law while struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
"In the post-Katrina era, voters should be outraged that the Legislature and governor wasted their tax dollars on this ill-fated attack on video games," ESA president Douglas Lowenstein said.
Blanco's press office did not have immediate comment on Friday. A call to the bill's sponsor, Rep. Roy Burrell, D-Shreveport, was not returned.
Brady deflected the arguments of lawyers for the state, who said video games should be treated differently than other forms of media because their interactive format can encourage criminal acts of violence.
"This argument has been rejected many times," Brady wrote, noting that other judges have ruled that movies and television also have interactive elements.
Brady also rejected the state's argument that video games depicting extreme violence can be "psychologically harmful" to minors.
"The state may not restrict video game expression merely because it dislikes the way that expression shapes an individual's thoughts and attitudes," he wrote.
The law sought to ban the sales of video games to minors if an "average person" would conclude that they appeal to a "morbid interest in violence." Sellers would face fines of up to $2,000, up to one year in prison or both for selling games found offensive.
The law also sought to ban sale of games to minors if the "average person" would conclude they depict violence that is "patently offensive" to standards in the adult community, and the games are deemed to lack artistic, political or scientific value.