Michigan game law ruled unconstitutional
After being stillborn for 4 months, Michigan's violent game legislation -- signed into law last September by Governor Jennifer M Granholm (pictured) -- is now officially dead. In a ruling handed out Friday, Judge George Caram Steeh confirmed that video games are a form protected free speech, "similar to movies and television shows." Steeh further dismissed the claim that gaming's inherent interactivity somehow restricted its First Amendment protection. Steeh's decision is full of choice quotes, but the following sentence could have more long-term importance:
"The research conducted by the State has failed to prove that video games have ever caused anyone to commit a violent act, let alone present a danger of imminent violence."
A statement that strong and resolute will prove damning to the prosecutors currently involved in Alabama's GTA Cop Killer case, which contends that Grand Theft Auto trained and incited Devin Moore to fatally shoot police officers.
