Law Bans Selling Violent Games to Kids
By PAUL QUEARY
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Gov. Gary Locke signed a bill into law Tuesday that hits retailers with a $500 fine for selling or renting video games to children that depict violence against police.
It’s believed to be the first state law of its kind in the country, according to the bill’s sponsor and the Interactive Digital Software Association, a trade group for video game manufacturers.
Video game publishers promised an immediate legal challenge on free-speech grounds to the law, which applies to children under 17.
Douglas Lowenstein, president of the trade group in Washington, D.C., said parents, not the state, should police their children’s games, which are rated for content by the industry.
Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, the bill’s sponsor, said she tailored the bill to withstand a constitutional challenge by focusing on the state’s interest in protecting the lives of law enforcement officers.
A St. Louis ordinance that requires children under 17 to have parental consent before they can buy violent or sexually explicit video games or play similar arcade games has been upheld by a federal district court judge. Video game publishers have appealed that decision, and the case is pending.
The ordinance was based on a similar Indianapolis law dealing with arcades that was struck down by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
—–
On the Net:
Interactive Digital Software Association
More science, space, and technology from RedNova
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.