Federal court strikes down Blagojevich video game restrictions

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A federal judge ruled Friday that a new Illinois law against selling violent or sexual video games to minors is unconstitutional, and he barred the state from enforcing it.

State officials "have come nowhere near" demonstrating that the law passes constitutional muster, said U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago.

Lawmakers approved the measure, which made it illegal to sell or rent mature games to minors, at the urging of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. It was to take effect Jan. 1.

Blagojevich said he will appeal the ruling.

"This battle is not over," he said in a statement. "Parents should be able to expect that their kids will not have access to excessively violent and sexually explicit video games without their permission."

Blagojevich and other supporters of the measure said children were being harmed by exposure to games in which characters go on killing sprees or sexual escapades.

But opponents pointed out that similar laws already had been struck down in other states. Even some lawmakers who voted for it called it a bad law but said they had to go along for political reasons.

"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.

Another plaintiff, the Entertainment Software Association, applauded the ruling and argued that ratings and new controls on game equipment give parents the tools they need.

Kennelly said the law would interfere with First Amendment rights of free speech, something that can be done only for compelling reasons, such as preventing imminent violence. The state also would have to show the law was the only way to achieve the state's goal and that it was as narrowly written as possible.

"Defendants have come nowhere near making the necessary showing in this case," he wrote.

"In this country, the state lacks the authority to ban protected speech on the ground that it affects the listener's or observer's thoughts and attitudes," Kennelly added.

Under the ban, retailers who knowingly sell adult video games to minors could be charged with a petty offense and fined $1,000.

They could defend themselves by showing that they didn't know the buyer was a minor or that they followed the industry ratings on the games, such as "T" for games acceptable for teenage players 13 and older and "E" for everyone.

Blagojevich proposed the ban late last year after hearing about the video game "JFK Reloaded," which puts the player in the role of President Kennedy's assassin.

Since the 1999 Columbine High School shootings started an outcry over games and violence, lawmakers in several states have proposed bans on the sales of violent video games, but none that became law has survived legal challenges.

The Illinois law's opponents said it would have a chilling effect, discouraging retailers and game makers from marketing mature games even to adults. And they questioned why state officials were singling out video games when violent and sexual images appear elsewhere.

Kennelly agreed with both points.

"If controlling access to allegedly 'dangerous' speech is important in promoting the positive psychological development of children, in our society that role is properly accorded to parents and families, not the state," he said.