Federal Court Finds Illinois’ Gaming Restrictions Unconstitutional
A federal judge ruled Friday that Illinois’ restrictions on the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors is unconstitutional and barred the state from enforcing the law. This is great news for gamers and now that the ruling at the federal level should keep other states from trying the same. Game on!
Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and other supporters of the measure argued that children were being harmed by exposure to games in which characters go on killing sprees or sexual escapades. Opponents declared the law a restriction on free speech and pointed out that similar laws had been struck down in other states. “It’s unfortunate that the state of Illinois spent taxpayer money defending this statute. This is precisely what we told them would happen,” said David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, one of the groups that sued over the law.
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