California videogame law overturned
Sorry, no blogs are active for this topic.
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium star Zach Mills was named best emerging actor at the KIDS FIRST! award show in Malibu on Oct. 7.
Arts Alliance America recently held a screening of Run Granny Run with film star Doris “Granny D” Haddock in Keen, N.H.
Sony and Reef Check celebrated the DVD release of Surf’s Up at Malibu Bluffs Park in Malibu, Calif., on Oct. 6.
» VIEW ALL GALLERIES
» VIEW FEATURED GALLERY
By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 8/6/2007
AUG. 6 | A federal court in California struck down a law that would have restricted the sale of violent videogames to minors in the state.
Passed by the California legislature in 2005 and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the law would have restricted the sale of games that depict violence offensive to the community or violence depicted in an “especially heinous, cruel or depraved” manner.
The Entertainment Merchants Assn. sued the state over the law in Oct. 2005, just after it was signed into law, asking that it be struck down for violating the First Amendment.
In December 2005, Judge Ronald M. Whyte granted the EMA a preliminary injunction, barring enforcement while the lawsuit was pending.
Today, the judge placed a permanent injunction on the law.
EMA president Bo Andersen hailed today’s ruling, which he called inevitable, pointing out that eight similar laws have been struck down in the last six years.
“We informed the legislature that this would be the eventual result when it was considering the law, and it is indeed unfortunate that legislature ignored the prior cases,” Andersen said. “It is now time for the California legislature to move beyond political grandstanding and accept the videogame industry’s invitation to work with them to educate the public about videogame ratings and encourage parents to utilize those ratings when selecting videogames for their families.”
