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Louisiana gov signs ESA-approved game bill

SB340 adds games to list of materials that can be considered harmful to minors, while contested game law awaits its day in court.

While the last gaming-restriction bill Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco signed into law wasn't in effect for even a day before a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing authorities from enforcing it, the second such bill she put her name on appears headed for a much less contentious fate.

Blanco announced on her Web site today that she has signed SB340, an act that includes games in the state's already exhaustive list of media (including movies, music, and books) that can be harmful to minors. It also changes the state's criteria for determining what material is harmful to minors.

The Entertainment Software Association has previously said it has no objection to the law. As for the other Louisiana game law currently held up in the courts, a hearing has been scheduled for June 30 on the ESA's motion for a preliminary injunction on the law.

51 Comments

  • deth420

    Posted Jul 5, 2006 4:15 pm GMT

    Im offended by the bible, with all its insest and murder and punishment, why can minors by a bible without parents permission

  • mikekare79

    Posted Jun 26, 2006 12:34 pm GMT

    Where does a 12-year-old get $60? Who gives them rides to the store? Who gave them $400 for a system? Who provides the TV? Who leaves them unattended? Parents. Grow up and take accountability.

  • mattxavier

    Posted Jun 26, 2006 5:26 am GMT

    Talk about compromise.

  • rynmls

    Posted Jun 25, 2006 8:42 pm GMT

    there it goes a law for gamers...

  • metdevthegamer

    Posted Jun 25, 2006 7:48 pm GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • thornpaw

    Posted Jun 25, 2006 3:49 pm GMT

    Shouldn't she be more interested in rebuilding her state than something like this? The state doesn't not need to passing laws restricting things. Parents need to get off the asses and find out what their kids are doing.

  • youlovehoey

    Posted Jun 25, 2006 3:31 pm GMT

    maybe instead of worrying about media being harmful to children, she should worry about a new evacuation plan for nawlens.....someone has their priorities mixed up very badly..

  • Timstuff

    Posted Jun 24, 2006 8:20 pm GMT

    Nice job letting your state get flooded, Kathleen. Maybe if you payed as much attention to your levies as you do to videogames, New Orleans wouldn't be a giant puddle of crap today.

  • Gunnerstorm32

    Posted Jun 24, 2006 2:26 pm GMT

    "They" said similar things about Rock n' Roll back in the 50's and 60's. It's still around!! Plus...Blanco should be more concerned about the Katrina recovery etc...

  • MASTERCHIEFUSMA

    Posted Jun 24, 2006 1:21 pm GMT

    Unless ur a minor u shouldnt even be worried

  • OPOLO

    Posted Jun 24, 2006 10:51 am GMT

    nothing else to do

  • gamer_10001

    Posted Jun 24, 2006 10:20 am GMT

    As long as it's the same as music, movies, and books

  • foggiemx

    Posted Jun 24, 2006 9:40 am GMT

    to bad for them

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Jun 24, 2006 6:41 am GMT

    These politicians are so idiotic.

  • Jerrymiru

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 9:10 pm GMT

    I can't wait until true gamers are in control of the nation. Then we wouldn't have to endure this kind of waste of time. Which is funny when you think about it. They are so worried about the little kids growing up missed up from these games, but them are missing the fact the average gamer is in the 20s.
    Sooner or later, we will be taking over their world!
    BWAH HA HAHAHAHA!!!!!

  • Inv_Machine

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 6:58 pm GMT

    Well, I hope other local and state governments find a reasonable and sound solution to address the mature-content problem. For a second, let's put GTA stuff aside. The truth is, M-rated games are becoming the cigarettes of gaming towards minors and adults alike.

    Say all you want about your "freedom" and "rights", but the cold hard truth is that the popularity of M-rated games is rising today more than ever. The more mature content is revealed, the more compelling the game is. I'm not saying that violent games are going to influence violent behaviors, but the typical M-rated game will influence behavior in general. Believe me...... I, myself, used to be engrossed with M-rated games at a very early age.

    I like how the state government is trying to address the issue, but they're mostly doing it all wrong. Fines, passive laws, lack of enforcement..... this is not the effective way to deal with the problem. The state governments should instead influence the parents on how to protect their children and tell them the cold hard truth about the mature games. The way they're doing it is just upsetting the parents and gamers alike. I hope someone steps up to this problem instead of just making a spectacle out of it.

  • ODiaz86

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 6:17 pm GMT

    TheGrandMiG:
    sheesh im sure glad i dont live in louisiana. NJ PWNS

    Woot!!!...You right about that.

  • Mp5slipknot

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 5:32 pm GMT

    I give it 3 months.

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 5:31 pm GMT

    no problem with this

  • josh_b

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 5:30 pm GMT

    She really needs to look at the real problems in this state like gun control or the drugs and drinking problems... Ive been playing M rated game since forever and my mother would always buy them for me. nothing worse than what i saw on tv or the movies or what i heard on the radio or read on the internet. im 21 now so a bill passed to ban sells of M rated games to minors wouldn't really hurt me.

    Minors are going to play these types of games regardless of laws passed. As gaming becomes more and more mainstream more and more attention is going to come to it. Things are going to get way worse before they get better.... i bet in about 3 to 5 years you will have to have a waiting period so they check you out before they will sell you a game... like they do guns lol.

  • SilverGuy999999

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 4:23 pm GMT

    Same here fishheads111, I'm sure glad I live in Canada were there are pretty much no hard rules when it comes to M-Rated games. If you guys/gals in the US don't like the tight rules on M-games you could always come to Canada, it's great here

  • fishheads111

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 3:31 pm GMT

    oh an...M-rated games dont make kids go all.crazy violent woop ur a$$ with a baseballbat/ handgun....like...a good portion of teens are more responsible than their older counterparts....at least we cant LEGALLY have a gambling addiction....the other portion of teens are drug abusers...or somewhere in the middle...which brings us back to...square one....wow...confusing issue aint it....

  • fishheads111

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 3:29 pm GMT

    heh...glad i live in Canada...i hope this legal crap doesnt hit home too badly here anytime soon....

  • chupamiubre

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 2:50 pm GMT

    i cant see why people are angry that they dont want kids playing M games i cant see y we need to label it if the kids can get it anyway

    heck all national chain stores have measures in place so kids dont buy M games they just need to tighten up on that not make a law but its kind of like saying kids shuld be able to buy a playboy because its protected by the 1st ammement BS this is crap i have no problem keeping M games out of kids hands and if you disagree please tell me why you shuld be able to play M games

  • SimpJee

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 2:09 pm GMT

    I don't understand why ESA is backing this, there has been little to no research done into the harmfulness of games on minors.

  • PicoFry

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 1:59 pm GMT

    Why are they bothering with this? Because Jack Thompson is a whore, and hates everyone on this site, and anyone who has ever worked on a video game.

  • Vulpis

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 1:43 pm GMT

    One problem with this whole thing...why is Louisana even *bothering* with this at this point, when a rather significant portion of their population doesn't have homes to play games in, electricity to play games with, *or* functioning stores to purchase these 'problem' games from in the first place????

  • RoboWizard

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 1:25 pm GMT

    The only two things I want to see preserved with these "harmful to minors" decrees are:

    1) that this doesn't affect adults (which I don't think it will...)

    and

    2) that parents still have the right to let their kids play these games if they want

    I've heard it proposed a number of times that M rated games should be like porn or alcohol, where if you give it to your children (as is the law in most states) it's against the law. But if you take a kid to see an R rated movie, that's fine as long as the adult buys the ticket. So let's see what happens...

  • John_Adkins

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 1:18 pm GMT

    It's still BS.

  • bennyhanna316

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 12:43 pm GMT

    i think M games SHOULD be off limits to kids anyway, thats what an M rating is for. screw the violent games laws, states needs to pass laws banning the sales of M games to kids much like how R Rathed movies are banned from being sold to minors.

  • Zaidyn

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 12:40 pm GMT

    Odd thing, when GS first reported this law, everyone hated it. Now no one cares because the ESA says it's ok.

  • og8440

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 12:34 pm GMT

    That's more like it! If the government wants to get these things passed, then they need to include every type of entertainment. Singling out games is not only unfair, but totally illogical.

  • struong

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 12:22 pm GMT

    If you haven't signed up yet, please go sign up at http://www.videogamevoters.org/ to do our part in keeping politician from hurting our industry.

    "If you don't take a stand, someone else will do it for you." -unknown

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 12:21 pm GMT

    I don't see anything wrong with this law, so it's all good.

  • Shiroi_Ookami

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 12:15 pm GMT

    You know that this censorship just puts us closer to a Faherenheit 451 type of society. The government is starting to really overstep its boundaries, it starts with simple restrctions and eventually leads to the ultimate banning of anything that is considered potentially offensive or problematic.

  • Video_Game_King

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 12:12 pm GMT

    Nice step to better relations between the ESA and government I say.

  • pwnr

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 12:02 pm GMT

    Too bad for them.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:49 am GMT

    its only new orleans...

  • FilthyYamBag

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:49 am GMT

    say all you want about New Jersey, corruption, arm-pit of america, over crowded, but at least we can buy any game we want, NJ pwns you

    ;p

  • Enterprise-E

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:40 am GMT

    We shall see where this goes.

  • Bombbay12345

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:39 am GMT

    I'm so happy I don't live Louisana. Or I'd be going crazy. As long as nothing happens in every state, I'm fine.

  • K1LLSWITCH

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:37 am GMT

    I can't wait for this to blow over. It was nice and quiet untill the San Andreas' "Hot Coffee Mod" came around. Thank you Rockstar. Appreciate it.

  • xDarkSeraphimX

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:36 am GMT

    And I agree with previous sentiment - living in a state that, as yet, has not wasted their time with this garbage is refreshing (though I wouldn't go so far as to say "NJ pwns [sic]"). It's only a matter of time, however...

  • daitarn130

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:36 am GMT

    its funny tho that they are all going after these small states cause they know, no way in hell this will pass in big states like cali or ny (maybe even jersey)

  • bassman17

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:36 am GMT

    I dunno. I'm generally opposed to legislation restricting video games, but this one doesn't seem that bad when you look at it. It just adds (supposedly) M rated games to other media such as porn and R rated movies and resticts minors access to them. These products are made for adult audiences anyway.

    Now if it were some kind of bill that banned game outright or started censoring them, then I would be writing letters to public officials and what not.

  • xDarkSeraphimX

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:35 am GMT

    The doctrine of SB340 appears to be meaningless. It's one of those definition bills - it doesn't really create any enforceable law or precedent, it simply poses a legal definition that future laws and precedents can draw back to. In the end, it's a technicality, and that's why the ESA approves it. But any future laws based on the definition will be challenged, such as the other LA bill (SB1381, I believe, but my memory could be failing me). In the end, it's simply a political two-step; it provides the guise that the legislatures are regulating videogames for the public and to the public, but it really achieves no tangible result. A smokescreen, if you will.

    Still, I continue to be amazed at how much time our legislators are wasting on videogame regulation. I don't see them wasting time with television, movie or music censorship. You'd think we have more important issues to deal with.

  • Donkeljohn

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:34 am GMT

    Proof that laws must first pass a SIG litmus test before being enforced.

  • VicaBizkit

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:33 am GMT

    Lol. I hope everyones happy now.

  • TheGrandMiG

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:33 am GMT

    sheesh im sure glad i dont live in louisiana. NJ PWNS

  • Invidia_Seputus

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 11:31 am GMT

    Heh. If the ESA has nothing to say about it, I guess there's no issue.

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