Freedom of Speech

Find the Freedom of Speech you want on this page or please view the following pages for more Freedom of Speech.

Supreme Court to hear case on violent games

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether free speech rights are more important than helping parents keep violent material away from children.

The justices agreed Monday to consider reinstating California's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors, a law the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco threw out last year on grounds that it violated minors' constitutional rights.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed the law in 2005, said he was pleased the high court would review the appeals court decision. He said, "We have a responsibility to our kids and our communities to protect against the effects of games that depict ultra-violent actions, just as we already do with movies."

However, the judge who wrote the decision overturning the law said at the time that there was no research showing a connection between violent video games and psychological harm to young people.

The Supreme Court's decision to hear the case comes only a week after the high court voted overwhelmingly to strike down a federal law banning videos showing animal cruelty. The California case poses similar free speech concerns, although the state law is aimed at protecting children, raising an additional issue.

California's law would have prohibited the sale or rental of violent games - those that include "killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being" - to anyone under 18. It also would have created strict labeling requirements for video game manufacturers. Retailers who violated the act could have been fined up to $1,000 for each violation.

Lawyer Stephen S. Smith, who has represented several video game companies in court, said the Supreme Court might use this case to explain how far lawmakers can go when trying to regulate depictions of violence.

"There is a fair amount of First Amendment law in the area of sexual explicitness and obscenity," he said. "But there is not nearly as much law on the issue of violence and what may be restricted or not under the First Amendment in that arena."

The California law never took effect, and was challenged shortly after it was signed by Schwarzenegger. A U.S. District Court b

Rate This Article: - Excellent Good Average Poor Terrible

Comment on "Supreme Court to hear case on violent games"

Your Name

Your Comments

Verification Code: NVW3C2
Enter Code: