Source: Yahoo! News: Court: Calif. can’t ban violent game sales.
Violent video games have been an ongoing debate for some time, with many parents trying to figure out how they could keep their kids from playing video games while still being wholly irresponsible and not paying any mind to what their kids are doing. I can make that statement, I used to work for a video game retailer, so don’t tell me you aren’t doing that, parents. And I’m living, breathing proof that violent video games don’t turn you into a serial killer; I played Mortal Kombat just like everyone else did, and I turned out just fine.
The Supreme Court, however, has finally shown a remarkable amount of sense in this matter. With a vote of 7-2, they have ruled that “restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed”, thus passing the ball right back to the parents who should have been running with it to begin with.
The law, first attempted in 2005, would have made it illegal for someone under the age of 18 to purchase an M rated video game…a policy most video game companies already enforce, but would have tacked a $1000 fine onto the sale of such a game to a minor. The law never took effect, however, as voters stated that it violated the constitutional rights of minors, which the Supreme Court agreed with. According to Justice Antonin Scalia, preventing the distribution of violent materials to children has no precedent, unlike sexual contant, and referenced fairy tales such as Hansel & Gretel, Cinderella, and Snow White, adding that “Certainly the books we give children to read — or read to them when they are younger — contain no shortage of gore.”