ESA Sues Louisiana Over Game Law

In its continuing effort to overturn legislation that limit the sale of violent video games, the Entertainment Software Association filed suit in federal court against the state of Louisiana. The group is looking to have the state's new video game law overturned.

Vendors caught selling violent video games to minors would risk being fined $100 to $2,000 per offense, with jail terms of up to one year. The ESA calls the bill unnecessary, saying the industry and parents are already working together to curb sales of questionable titles.

In the past five years, six courts have overturned similar laws on First Amendment grounds, saying the laws violated free speech protections for both child gamers and the manufacturers themselves.

The most recent decision was over a Michigan law in March, where the judge said video games were "expressive free speech, inseparable from their interactive functional elements, and are therefore protected by the First Amendment."

"The Federal Government has found that parents are involved in game purchases more than eight out of ten times. Retailers already have increasingly effective carding programs in place to prevent the sale of Mature or Adult Only games to minors," ESA president Doug Lowenstein said.

"Legislators know full well that this bill is destined to meet the same fate as other failed efforts to ban video game sales," Lowenstein argued. The ESA also brought up the fact that lawmaker's continued persistence in passing such laws is costing taxpayers money; governments have shelled out nearly one million dollars in legal fees to fight the ESA.

Lowenstein urged government officials to work with the industry, retailers, parents and health groups to educate children and other about ESRB ratings and what they mean. In addition, he said that next generation consoles include parental controls, which parents should familiarize themselves with.