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IDSA Fights Against Violent Video Game Laws
Yesterday Reuters press reported that officials of St. Louis County, Missouri, have appealed a ruling by a federal panel that struck down an ordinance making it illegal to sell or rent violent video games to minors. On June 3, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law "is a regulation of speech based on content and does not survive strict scrutiny." The Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) sued to block the law, and filed the original appeal to the 8th Circuit after a federal district court ruled in St. Louis's favor.
St. Louis officials filed a petition for rehearing on June 17, asking that the full appellate court hear the case. The IDSA countered June 19 with a motion to be reimbursed for attorneys' fees by St. Louis County in the amount of $170,882.40. An IDSA spokeswoman told Reuters on Wednesday the group was not surprised by the St. Louis appeal. The IDSA is currently pursuing another suit in federal court in Seattle, Washington, against a state law that restricts the sale of video games depicting violence against law enforcement officers. The next hearing in that case, which will consider an injunction against the law's enforcement, is set for early July, the IDSA spokeswoman said. The law is set to take effect from July 27.
A bill is also pending before the U.S. House of Representatives that would make it a federal misdemeanor to sell or rent violent video games to minors, with offenders facing escalating fines.
SOURCE: Reuters.
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