California Violent Game Bill Found Unconstitutional

Posted on August 8, 2007

The heavily discussed California violent game bill signed into law by Arnold Schwarzenegger has been found unconstitutional by a California district court.

The California state bill that would prevent violent video games from being sold to minors and establish a California-mandated game rating label system has been ruled unconstitutional by a district court -- as predicted last year by Game|Life and pretty much anyone with a brain.
Authored by assemblyman Leland Yee (now a state senator) and signed into law by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the bill would have made it illegal to sell games described as "violent" to anyone under the age of 18. It would also have required all such games to carry a label on the package with the number 18.

Game Politics has posted a PDF file showing the ruling. Game Politics also reports that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't giving up on the bill and plans to appeal. A federal court blocked a similar California game law in 2005.