Supreme Court to hear case on violent video games

[babylonsister]

Supreme Court to hear case on violent video games

By Michael Doyle | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices will meet Resident Evil 4 on Tuesday in a divisive free-speech case that's rated M for mature.

Eleven states, including Florida and Texas, have joined California in urging the court to uphold a law that bans the sale of violent video games to minors younger than 18. These states say that young people need moral and psychological protection.

But in an intriguing political split, eight states — including Washington and South Carolina — want California's law buried. The interstate conflict foreshadows a provocative debate Tuesday, though the judicial odds seem to favor unfettered video gaming.

"I'd be surprised if the court ... upholds the California statute," said Peter Edelman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. "Maybe the court won't be unanimous, but it would be a major departure if they hold it constitutional."

The hourlong oral argument Tuesday morning and subsequent court decision will move beyond the $10 billion-a-year video game industry. If the Supreme Court sides with California's law, the ruling could invite restrictions on books, movies and the Internet in general.


more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/10/29/102854/supreme-court-to-hear-case-on.html

[JDPriestly]

1. Roberts has a young son. Scalia raised a number of children

as did Kennedy. Thomas has a son, I think.

Any responsible person who is or has a parent should at least want to control the sale of violent video games to young children.

I think that if the Court can find a way, the California law will be upheld -- but the justices may not be able to justify upholding and remain consistent with their legal (read political) philosophy, so -- it's a toss-up.

But, remember, sometime around 1995 or 1996, the Supreme Court issued a surprising ruling in a commerce case that involved the right to have a gun in the back of your car near a school (I think that was the subject matter of the case). Seemed to me that their desire to cater to the gun lobby was greater than their dedication to consistency in the law (although I agreed with the decision in that case), so we shall see.

[backscatter712]

2. Fuck that shit!

Video games are just like movies - they have ratings. Don't buy your four-year-old games with the big M on the box.

Other than that, I don't want any of that nanny-state bullshit.

Freedom of speech must remain protected.

[digitaln3rd]

3. This.

Quit running to the government/television/etc to do your parenting for you.

Fantasy violence in video games doesn't make someone violent in real life. That's a bogus argument.

[JDPriestly]

6. I wouldn't buy my four-year-old a violent video game, but

what if the children my children play with get them? What if somebody in the Cub Scouts or my church or at school have them? It isn't a matter of nanny-state anything. It is a matter of my right to decide what my children are exposed to.

If somebody else wants their child to play with those games, let them provide them to their children in their own home and keep them there. Nobody is going to be searching house-to-house to see whether the children are playing with those games, but wise parents won't let their children take them to school -- and the schools, etc. can take them from the children if they do bring them.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

8. You can't control everything your child will be exposed to.

And you definitely shouldn't depend on the government to do it for you.

[surrealAmerican]

28. This law will not prevent your child from encountering ...

... those games at another child's house. The other child may well have a parent or sibling who bought it.

You still get to say what games you allow in your house with or without this law.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. I too have reared childern, but the restriction is bogus.....(n/t)

[spanone]

13. chip, chip away...

[Poll_Blind]

4. Please don't cheapen my child's youth by preventing him from participating in virtual killings.

PB

[Odin2005]

7. The government has no business banning video games.

the laws should be overturned. fuck the Nanny State idiots.

[USArmyParatrooper]

9. But what about age appropriate ratings like in movies?

A violently bloody cartoon would be rated R in theaters and require minors to be accompanied by adults. What's your opinion on movie ratings and should the same be applied to video games?

[backscatter712]

11. Video games already have ratings.

It's up to the parents to look for the M on the box and refuse to let their kids play those games.

[USArmyParatrooper]

14. But should minors be refused sales, just as entry to rated R movies?

I'm not a fuddy duddy but I do understand the reasoning behind it. My daughter is 8 and I wouldn't let her play Grand Theft Auto. In her mid teens I wouldn't mind, but I respect parents who don't want their teens to be able to buy them.

[backscatter712]

16. Show me irrefutable psychological evidence of harm, and I'll think about it.

All I see is media-pimped stories saying "They might change behavior, temporarily, under specific circumstances" that get hyped into a mass panic by douchebags like Jack Thompson, but I haven't seen anything that actually resembles hard evidence of harm.

Until such evidence exists, the First Amendment trumps lazy parents.

[USArmyParatrooper]

18. So do you think minors should not be barred from seeing rated R movies on their own?

As I said, I'm not a fuddy duddy and I don't care about my own daughter seeing them when she gets older. But to me I don't see a difference between rated R movies and rated M video games. I have my own way as a parent but I also respect that others have their own way.

[backscatter712]

20. I saw a few R-rated movies when I was little. Didn't screw me up. n/t

[USArmyParatrooper]

22. Me too, but you didn't answer the question.

Do you feel there should be an age limit for admittance into rated R movies without an accompanying adult? Should that same standard apply to video games?

[Zephie]

24. Horror movies were a favorite of mine as a child, but my mother couldn't stomach them

She would often just let me get a ticket for what I wanted and then go watch a "chick flick" in a different theater. I'm pretty well adjusted despite that, I think - but the insane can never realize their own delusions I guess.

[backscatter712]

26. The government shouldn't impose one.

If the parents choose to restrict their kids, that's their business. Otherwise, it's not my problem.

[uppityperson]

17. Can unaccompanied minors watch R dvd's @ home?

That seems a better comparison. Not can they be admitted to a theater, but for home use.

[USArmyParatrooper]

25. Not sure. Can they do so legally?

I mean without falsely clicking the "I am over 18" box.

[uppityperson]

27. I've never seen that box. Let me rephrase to SHOULD they be able to

view R movies on dvd at home? Expand to tv if you'd like since I think that is why they put R stuff on late.

[walldude]

10. Big surprise...

1940's-Dime store novels

1950's- Comic Books,

1960's-Rock and Roll,

1970's-Horror Movies

1980's Rock and Roll again

1990's-2000's- Video Games

Every generation of clueless leaders needs something insignificant to blame all their problems on.

Funny how they are all worried about "the children" and violent videogames right up till they need cannon fodder and then they are thrilled to train children how to kill for real. 17 is old enough to join the army but not to play Call Of Duty.. :rofl:

[Zephie]

12. I'm too busy playing Fallout: New Vegas to respond to this

So you'll have to infer my position based on my current video game. :freak:

[walldude]

21. They did a good job didn't they... I was worried when

the Fallout legacy changed hands but they managed to keep the spirit of the original games in the last 2.

[Zephie]

23. I love it. Obsidian actually had a hand in this one

I've always loved Bethesda's games as well. Their Elder Scrolls line is one of my favorite RPGs.

[Politicalboi]

15. Children, Children, Children

I am so tired of having to watch TV with bleeps after 9 pm. And why do we do it? The Children. When most children learn bad language from their parents and bring it to school. It's like a virus. Why must adults again have to scarafice for everyones children? I am sick of it. Why let children out at all? They might see something that's an adult matter right in their own front yard. When I was 6 I saw my dog get run over as he was coming across the street. His name was Lucky. He wasn't so lucky that day. You can't control everything in a childs life. But trying to makes it impossible to live in an adult world.

[TheWatcher]

19. Hopefully they can save us from these evil things.

For far too long, Video Games have been the scourge of mankind, and can be traced to having direct links to major breakdowns in society.

They were likely a major factor responsible for 9/11, and most of the terrorism on Earth, so it would be a good idea to get rid of them completely if we can.

We really need to face the fact that in a world like this, the best thing we can do for our safety is to give up all of our rights, liberties, freedoms, and Civil Rights as quickly as we can.

We really have no need for such quaint things in the Post 9/11 World, which violent video games, again, were directly responsible for, as well as at least 80% of ALL crime in the nation.

The soon we rid ourselves of these menaces the better.

Free Speech, Freedom of Expression, and things of that nature have no relevance in our country anyway, anymore. We have plenty of pre-packaged Propaganda ready to go on a daily basis to tell us what to think, and there is plenty of good Junk Culture left on TV to keep us occupied.

It's just time to Roll Over, Be Numb, and Give Up everything.

Oh, and PLEASE don't forget to stay afraid. Turban Clad men with Printer Cartridges will eat your children if you don't.

:sarcasm: