Legal Niches

ESA CEO Editorial on Upcoming SCOTUS Fight

By james_fudge

Entertainment Software Association president and CEO Michael D. Gallagher penned and editorial for the Baltimore Sun newspaper explaining what is at stake in early November when the Supreme Court reviews the 2005 California Video Game law. The thrust of his argument is that the First Amendment to the Constitution holds importance significance in our society. It was designed by the founding fathers to protect citizens from the government abridging the right to speak freely.

He also points out that the state of California is trying to abridge the free speech rights of game makers based on the unproven notion that consuming video game violence influences users to engage in real world acts of violence. The data that the law is based on was questioned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which it called not substantial enough to prove that violent video games cause psychological or neurological harm to minors.

While he touches on a number of other reasons why the law is misguided and false, the closing paragraphs of Gallagher's op-ed piece sums up nicely the main reason why the law should not stand: Read More

read more

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on October 05, 2010 (boomark / email).