Court rejects Illinois law restricting gaming
A federal judge ruled Friday that Illinois'
restrictions on the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors
are unconstitutional and barred the state from enforcing the law.
A federal judge ruled Friday that Illinois' restrictions on the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors are unconstitutional and barred the state from enforcing the law.
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"It's unfortunate that the state of Illinois spent taxpayer money defending this statute. This is precisely what we told them would happen," said David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, one of the groups that sued over the law.
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[Judge] Kennelly said the law would interfere with the First Amendment and 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," the judge wrote.
Our whole culture is swamped with fighting the battles against Victorian “morality” all over again. Not only have lawyers somehow become the essential lifestyle arbiters; we seem to be governed by politicians and bureaucrats who think they must legislate taste.
Posted: Sat - December 3, 2005 at 03:50 PM