Washington — The Supreme Court struck down a law on Monday in California that prohibited the renting and selling of violent video games to minors, calling the act a violation of free-speech.
Adopted in 2005, the law would fine retailers as much as $1,000 for allowing a minor to purchase or rent a violent video game — defining these games as anything that shows “killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being.”
Although the law never took effect, by a 7-2 vote the justices upheld a ruling by the appeals court, calling the restricted law unconstitutional. California isn’t the only state, however, that had this law—six others adopted similar statutes, but all were voted down in court.
“Our cases hold that minors are entitled to a significant degree of First Amendment protection. Government has no free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which they may be exposed,” said Justice Antonin Scalia writing for the majority.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3pq4gf8 (Reuters)
http://law.justia.com/codes/california/2009/civ/1746-1746.5.html
