A law that would restrict sales of violent videogames to California minors is on its way to the Supreme Court, GamePolitics reports. The law, signed in 2005 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, had an injunction issued against it by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Whyte for being unconstitutional. He subsequently permanently enjoined it in August of 2007. Schwarzenegger appealed to the Circuit Court, which upheld the ruling. Now the Supreme Court is the last front for the legal battle.
The law was ruled as unconstitutional due to its limiting of free speech, but its supporters maintain that it's an important step in encouraging parents to be involved in the games their children play. "By prohibiting the sale of violent video games to children under the age of 18 and requiring these games to be clearly labeled, this law would allow parents to make better informed decisions for their kids," said Schwarzenegger in a press release.

California State Senator Leeland Yee, who sponsored the law, feels there are sinister motives behind efforts against the bill. "I believe the high court will uphold this law as Constitutional," he said. "The multi-billion dollar video game industry relies on the revenue generated by the sales of these extremely violent games to children; thus they have the desire and resources to fight this cause at every turn."

Finally, Entertainment Software Association head Michael Gallagher was optimistic about the case. "California's citizens should see this for what it is-a complete waste of the state's time and resources," he said. "We are confident that this appeal will meet the same fate as the State's previous failed efforts to regulate what courts around the country have uniformly held to be expression that is fully protected by the First Amendment."

Though the case is centered on California now, the SCOTUS decision will have far-reaching consequences for the industry. Upholding the decision would preemptively negate any hope for similar legislation in other states, while overturning it could prompt states to attempt passing similar laws. We'll be watching this one closely.

This law is really gay, I gotta drag my mom into a store and hear her bitch and complain and then when i get up to the counter the clerk's all telling unnecessary shit about the game being "violent ,graphic, etc" and in the end my mom doesn't even give a shit making the whole "violent" speech unnecessary.

-My point in a nutshell-


Parents don't really give a shit(unless they're religious of course) about the game's ratings and all that, overruling this law would actually save ppl more time.