The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld an injunction this Monday against a Minnesota law that targeted at children under 17 who rent or buy violent video games. Despite some discomfort with the decision, the three-judge panel on the court agreed with a lower-court judge that Minnesota went too far when it passed its law two years ago because the state couldn"t prove that such games hurt children. "Whatever our intuitive (dare we say commonsense) feelings regarding the effect" of violent video games, precedent requires undeniable proof that such violence causes psychological dysfunction, Wollman wrote.
The law would have hit kids under 17 with a $25 fine if they rented or bought a video game rated "M" for mature or "AO" for adults only. It also would have required stores to put up signs warning of the fines. Game makers and retailers swiftly challenged the law, arguing it was an unconstitutional restriction of free speech.