Calif. Petitions Supreme Court On Violent Video Game Bill

eldavojohn writes "You know the drill, violent video game bill struck down because: "We hold that the Act, as presumptively invalid content-based restriction on speech, is subject to strict scrutiny and not the 'variable obscenity' standard from Ginsberg v. New York. Applying strict scrutiny, we hold that the Act violates rights protected by the First Amendment." Well, that didn't satisfy a PhD child psychologist turned Democratic California State Senator named Leland Yee who states in his press release that "California's violent video game law properly seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of excessively violent, interactive video games. I am hopeful that the Supreme Court — which has never heard a case dealing with violent video games — will accept our appeal and assist parents in keeping these harmful video games out of the hands of children. I believe the high court will uphold this law as Constitutional. In fact in Roper v. Simmons, the court agreed we need to treat children differently in the eyes of the law due to brain development." His appeal (in PDF) is here and you can find some industry reactions to the Supreme Court hearing at GamePolitics. Unfortunately Yee seems to be a bit more competent than old Jack Thompson, who is pushing a bill in Louisiana today."

Comments

Re:WTF?

[R3d M3rcury]

The second, more likely, explanation is that they want to enforce their own style of parenting on everyone.

Parent buys M-rated game for kid, believing that their kid can handle the "Adult themes." Kid shows other kids the game. Other kids go to their parents and say, "Can I have that game?" Other parents say, "No."

"Why not?!" whine the other kids.

"Because you're not mature enough." say the other parents.

"But this other kid has it! It's not fair!!" ...and so it goes.

There are various different scenarios. Parent buys M-Rated game for teenage son. Teenage son gets bored with it. Little brother gets it, plays it, shows friends, same conversation erupts. And don't think your kid is going to be honest enough to say, "This other kid got it from his older brother."

Part of the desire for "enforcing their own style of parenting on everyone" is that parents, indirectly, will be affected by the way that other parents deal with their kid.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not excusing parents from their responsibility to have to answer the above questions from their kid. Hey, nobody said parenting was easy. But I can at least understand a parent's desire to not have to go through this.