Screenshot from Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad Of Gay Tony. (Credit: Rockstar Media/CBS)
Don't Miss This
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) — Video game makers and sellers may be celebrating after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday overturning the California ban on the sale or rental of violent games to children.
But one local law enforcement official says it’s not over.
As WBBM Newsradio 780′s Debra Dale reports, the justices on Monday ruled 7-2 that the law was an overreach of government action.
The ruling said the California ban violated minors’ First and Fourteenth amendment rights.
But Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow says the fight is not over.
Glasgow says the case was based on a 2005 statute and used dated psychological studies.
“It’s up to us in law enforcement to get the evidence and the data to present to the court that this stuff does cause imminent harm to children – I stress children because in no way would I ever advocate censorship for adults,” Glasgow said.
He said evolving technology is making video games more realistic, and the violence more harmful.
California was one of several states that had enacted laws restricting minors’ rights to buy violent video games. An Illinois law passed under convicted ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2005 was blocked by a federal court, as was a similar law in Michigan, CBS News reported.
