As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments about California’s controversial gaming law interested parties on both sides of the debate are coming out of the woodwork to add their two cents. Both sides are doing everything in their power to sway the courts nine members, with several states and organizations filing amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs laying out their position on the banning of selling violent games to minors.
One one side, 11 states have sided with California in support of the ban, claiming that it will be good for children. While that may sound significant keep in mind that it’s more common for 40 or more states to band together in similar cases, so there’s hardly a united front. Meanwhile the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) and Entertainment Software Association (ESA) have filed their own briefs opposing the law. The industry also has an ally in Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who is spearheading a push to find states who will side with game developers and publishers in an attempt to thwart the new law.
“We wouldn’t be surprised if the number [of states siding with the industry] was equal or exceeded the number” backing California, said George Rose, executive vice president and chief public policy officer of Activision Blizzard. said California Supervising Deputy Attorney General Zackery Morazzin also realizes the state has a fight on its hands, claiming, “It’s our understanding that there’s a pretty intense lobbying effort” against the law.
While Mr. Shurtleff hasn’t publicly commented on why he’s backing the gaming industry and encouraging others to do so spokesman Paul Murphy says it stems from a fear that “the concern from law enforcement that the courts will recognize a defense for criminals that ‘the video game made me do it.'”
When the law was first passed the ESA challenged it on the basis of the First Amendment protection of freedom of speech and the edic was struck down by both District and Federal Appelate courts. Similar laws passed by eight other states have also been declared unconstitutional in the past, so right now the deck seems to be stacked in the industry’s favor. That’s no reason for gamers to get cocky though, as the High Court could easily undo all those previous wins with a single ruling.
Hopefully, if this matter is settled as expected with California’s law being wiped off the books then that will prevent other states from attempting to pass similar legislation in the future. Then they’ll just have to find another scapegoat for why it’s not bad parenting that leads to bad kids, but rather something else entirely. Personally I blame the rap music, it’s clearly the cause of all of society’s ills.
