CA game restriction law disputed

As promised, the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) have jointly filed suit against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a handful of other state officials to have a recently adopted law restricting the sale of violent games to minors overturned.

The complaint alleges that the new law (which received a legislative boost earlier this year from the Grand Theft Auto "Hot Coffee" scandal and goes into effect January 1, 2006) violates the First Amendment by restricting access to games "based solely on their expressive content" and unconstitutionally compels speech by manufacturers, distributors, importers, and retailers by requiring them to label violent games with a 2-by-2-inch sticker of a solid white "18" outlined in black.

Furthermore, the complaint cites numerous precedents of video games being qualified as free speech in other circuit courts and states that "Plaintiffs and their members, as well as many citizens of California, will suffer immediate, serious, and irreparable injury if the Act takes effect."

"We believe this bill will meet the same fate as virtually identical statutes that federal courts have routinely struck down in recent years," said ESA president Douglas Lowenstein in a statement. "It is not up to any industry or the government to set standards for what kids can see or do; that is the role of parents."