Minnesota to Cough Up $65k in Legal Fees to Game Industry

The state of Minnesota, land of ten thousand lakes, home to Neil Gaiman, Garrison Keillor, and the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince, just had its hands slapped for attempting to fine underage buyers of M-rated video games. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the state of Minnesota will pay out "$65,000 in attorney fees and expenses incurred as a result of [the ESA's] successful challenge to Minnesota's unconstitutional video game law."

What law? Try one which would have put tradition topsy-turvy by fining underage buyers and not sellers of M-rated games $25 for each violation.

Ouch state of Minnesota legislators who tried to foist this on its citizenry. It's not a lot of cash, sure, but I'll bet it smarts just the same. That's what you get for trying to drag taxpayers into a quarrel that ought to be settled in a voting booth come election time, and then only after the public's been sufficiently and forthrightly informed about what's scientific and what's not when it comes to violence in media and its impact on children.

Check out Judge James M. Rosenbaum's statement on the matter back in July 2006, when he issued a permanent injunction halting implementation of the law:

...there is no showing whatsoever that video games, in the absence of other violent media, cause even the slightest injury to children...several other states have tried to regulate minors' access to video games. Every effort has been stricken for violating the First Amendment...the Court will not speculate as the motives of those who launched Minnesota's nearly doomed effort to "protect" our children. Who, after all, opposes protecting children? But, the legislators drafting this law cannot have been blind to its constitutional flaws.

Best part of the statement: "Who, after all, opposes protecting children?" Who indeed. What these nutty political crusaders don't get is that opponents of laws like these want to protect children just as much as they do.

But with good science, not bad.

If you want to know more, GamePolitics has a nice summary write-up here.

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