Louisiana Judge Permanently Blocks Violent Video Game Law

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 30, 2006 - 3:03pm.

Washington - A federal judge in Louisiana has blocked implementation of a state law that would have banned the sale of violent video games to minors.

The decision marks the ninth in six years to strike down or enjoin laws seeking to ban video game sales to minors; none have been upheld. U.S. District Court Judge James Brady issued his ruling directly from the bench, declining to comment beyond his initial August court ruling imposing a preliminary injunction, which he made permanent on Wednesday.

"One hopes that enough is enough," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the ESA, the trade group representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. "Video games are like rock and roll: they're here to stay, and it's about time for elected officials to focus their energies, and taxpayer dollars, on truly productive and useful programs to educate parents to use the tools industry has made available -- from ESRB ratings to parental control technologies."

The Louisiana decision comes in the same week that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Illinois rejected that state's appeal of a ruling overturning an Illinois law that blocked violent game sales to minors.

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