Dueling Commentary on California Video Game Law

[Commentary] USA Today has dueling commentary on the California video game law which will be reviewed by the Supreme Court next week.

The law bans the sale of ultraviolent or sexually violent games to minors. The USA Today editorial staff says you can't blame parents for wanting to shield their children from these sorts of games. They should. But the legal question to be argued is whether government -- in this case, the state of California -- has a role in deciding which games ought to be banned. USAT thinks not. "[It is] better to rely on parents to impose limits, rather than expecting the heavy hand of government to do the job for them." The editorial concludes: "Guarding the First Amendment often means protecting the right of people to say or do things that most Americans find repulsive, such as Nazis marching in a Jewish neighborhood in Skokie, Ill. But the alternative is to arbitrarily pick and choose who's entitled to free expression and who isn't. In that world, anyone might be deprived of rights reserved for individuals since the nation's founding."

Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, counters that the case pits the profits of a multibillion dollar video game industry against the best interests of kids. This law is not about preventing access to games that provide learning opportunities and appropriate entertainment, such as Wii Backyard Sports. It covers only the most violent games. He concludes: "If parents decide a violent game is OK for their kids, that's one thing. But kids can't judge the impact of violence on their lives. This law is a common sense solution that puts a parent or adult in charge of the decision-making process, instead of an industry just protecting its profits."