Reaction to California Injunction Continues
While the video game industry is thanking Judge Ronald Whyte for an early holiday present, widely varied reactions continue to pour in.
The San Jose Mercury-News quotes attorney Cathy Kirkman, who writes the excellent Silicon Valley Media Law blog, as saying, "It's clear that this is really important to a lot of people in society. Even though they've been striking out in court, it doesn't appear they are folding up the tent at all on the issue."
Kirkman also told the Mercury-News that the California law faces an uphill battle, but pointed out that advocates can keep trying legislation, particularly if researchers find clearer links between violent video game content and actual youth violence. Such a progression of research ultimately showed causal links between smoking and serious health issues.
"They didn't get it the first time, Kirkman said, "but over time the evidence becomes sufficiently compelling."
In the San Francisco Chronicle, a spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said, "We're disappointed but not surprised. Everyone agrees this is a statute that affects First Amendment rights and these cases are subject to careful review by the courts. We believe the statute is narrowly crafted to restrict children's access to uniquely explicit materials and that is justified by the Constitution."
In the same article, a spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "This is just the first step in what is certain to be a lengthy legal proceeding. Once the state is able to present evidence in the case, the courts will have the opportunity to understand why the governor and Legislature believe the state has a compelling interest in protecting children from potential harm from exposure to extremely violent video games."
A staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation told the Los Angeles Times that Judge Whyte's ruling was not surprising. "It brings into question whether this is really the best use of the state's resources to constantly put up these clearly unconstitutional laws, only to have them challenged and thrown out," said Kurt Opsahl. "It does seem to be one in this series of: law passes, gets challenged, gets struck down. Rinse, lather, repeat."
"Technology will wipe away this issue in the next five years," said EA VP Jeff Brown. "The new consoles from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo will all have parental controls so that game systems are far beyond television and DVDs in the ability they give to parents to restrict content."