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DainBramaged

(39,191 posts)
Wed Apr 24, 2013, 07:30 PM Apr 2013

New Jersey ignores Supreme Court in pushing for violent game legislation

When a New Jersey state legislator first proposed a bill to ban sales of M- and AO-rated games to anyone under 18 last month, we figured it was just another small-time politician trying to make a name for himself with a proposal that wouldn't go anywhere. And when a New Jersey state task force recommended regulating violent video games as part of its "gun protection, addiction, mental health and families, and education safety" report, we figured it was the kind of cover-your-ass bureaucratic language that would (hopefully) be ignored in a report focused on more substantive gun safety measures.

But then New Jersey governor Chris Christie put his political weight behind restrictions on selling video games to minors last week. Now we realize that the New Jersey political establishment seems dead-set on making a serious push for this blatantly unconstitutional measure.

It's sad, because this is exactly the kind of waste of state legislative resources that the Supreme Court aimed to stop with its 2010 Schwarzenegger vs. EMA ruling, which gave full first amendment protections to video games. Before that ruling, roughly a dozen states had passed various measures to limit minors' access to violent video games. All those initiatives were eventually struck down by state or federal courts after lengthy legal battles. With Supreme Court precedent on the books, the thinking went, no other state legislature would have to waste its time dealing with what was now an established constitutional precedent to protect game sales.

Apparently New Jersey's politicians didn't get that message. "Ensuring there are common-sense safety measures when purchasing guns is not enough," Christie said at a press conference last Friday. “We must address the many different contributing factors... This is just common sense and means that parents and legal guardians are actively engaged and aware of the kinds of games their kids are buying and renting."

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/04/new-jersey-ignores-supreme-court-in-pushing-for-violent-game-legislation/


They just can't get out of our lives, smaller government my wrinkled old ass

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New Jersey ignores Supreme Court in pushing for violent game legislation (Original Post) DainBramaged Apr 2013 OP
that state legislator in question happens to be mine tabbycat31 Apr 2013 #1
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